Welcome back and happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrated this week. The chapters were very short this week but a lot is happening as the book draws to a close!

Summary

Will and Rosamond are both stunned by Dorothea’s sudden appearance in the drawing room. Rosamond tries to make light of it by teasing Will that he can run after Dorothea and confess his love for her. Will snaps at her and berates her for ruining his chances with Dorothea. Rosamond is distraught when she realizes that Will will never love her. She collapses until Lydgate gets home, and he comforts her while she cries. Lydgate assumes she was overwhelmed by Dorothea’s visit.

Will comes back later to see Lydgate, and realizes that Rosamond did not tell Lydgate about their encounter with Dorothea. Lydgate catches Will up on the town gossip, including Bulstrode’s downfall, the rumors about Lydgate’s involvement in Raffles’s death, and the public reveal of Will’s heritage and relation to Bulstrode. The men try to joke about each of their predicaments, but they mask their pity for each other and dread for their own futures.

Context and references

The epigraph for chapter 79 is from Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, a religious allegory that has been very popular with Protestants since its publication in 1678.