Dr. Arthur Cameron is an English professor at Larchmoor, a young women’s seminary. Although he disdains the very institution and thinks of the girls there as empty-headed and inconsequential, Larchmoor represents a haven for him, where he is free to do as he pleases. Although the atmosphere of the university is slowly losing its intellectual appeal, he still daydreams about Shelley’s ‘Beatrice’ – the ideal woman in need of protection, in whose defence nothing must be held back. One of his students, Shirley Bridges, corners him just as he is trying to leave. She begs him to change her grade, and after some reluctant conversation Cameron discovers that her father has come to take her away from Larchmoor. Impatient with her tears, he tells her that ‘Larchmoor is not the world’ – she’s young, and she could have many opportunities elsewhere. In vain, Shirley tries to persuade him – until she lets it slip that the real reason she does not want to go home is that her father beats her. Cameron is taken aback; he was certain that she was only avoiding the journey home in order to remain in the city and partake in alcohol or the company of a boyfriend. Her obvious need for help provokes a defensive reaction from him. He goes to reason with the University president, Herman, but the administrative staff is worried that Shirley’s mental health issues will cause her to commit suicide or, at the very least, self-harm – and they do not want the reputation of the school damaged by ‘such incidents.’ Cameron’s old hatred of Larchmoor resurfaces at once, and he loses his temper, kicking the table and shouting obscenities. Unfortunately, this accomplishes nothing. As he leaves Herman’s office, he sees Shirley taken away by her father. Cameron tries to convince himself that he did all of this because of the Beatrice ideal that Shirley represented – not for the ‘Larchmoor girl’ that she really is.