Mary Barton: Chapter 19 Summary & Analysis

The next morning, Mary rushes to see Alice before work. At the Wilsons’ house, Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Davenport say Alice’s condition hasn’t changed, and the latter shows Mary into Alice’s bedroom while warning her that Alice no longer recognizes anyone. Margaret is already there. The two girls listen to Alice talk aloud about her childhood as if she were still a child. Mary offers to watch over Alice through the coming night, and Margaret says that would be good—Mrs. Wilson had to watch Alice almost all last night, as Jem was out until very late. Mary is hopeful that she’ll see Jem later, though she judges herself for hoping such a thing while Alice is so sick.

Mary hurries to work, where Sally asks whether Mary has heard. When Mary asks what Sally means, Sally tells her that Harry was killed the previous night. Mary, utterly shocked, almost faints. Though she gets to work, she’s crying: she feared Harry but feels terrible that he’s died. All day, Mary’s coworkers gossip about the murder—and criticize Mary for dumping Harry.

Meanwhile, the police have plans to arrest Jem, and they send out an officer to determine who owned the murder weapon—though Mr. Carson, impatient and raging, thinks they are moving too slowly. That afternoon, someone knocks on the Wilsons’ door. When Mrs. Wilson answers, a policeman disguised in workers’ clothes shows her a gun and asks whether it belongs to Jem. Mrs. Wilson says it does and asks how he got it. Shortly thereafter, he rushes away without explaining. Mrs. Wilson supposes he was probably a friend of Jem’s and goes to take a nap.

Though the policeman feels a little sorry for Mrs. Wilson, he takes what he’s learned to the superintendent, and soon the police arrest Jem at work. Though Jem is shocked, he just asks a coworker to let his mother know he's in “trouble” and won’t be coming home—and no more. The coworker goes and tries only to tell Mrs. Wilson what Jem asked, but Mrs. Wilson badgers the truth out of him. Distraught, she calls Mary a “dirty hussy” when he tells her that Jem was fighting Harry over Mary and refuses to believe that the man who asked about Jem’s gun was undercover police. After the man leaves, Mrs. Wilson feels devastated though she is certain of Jem’s innocence.