Wives and Daughters Chapter 15 Summary & Analysis

Molly returns home on a Tuesday. Shortly after, she hears a carriage pull up, and Mr. Gibson and Clare come inside. Mr. Gibson leaves quickly to see a patient, and Clare orders Molly to help her unpack. Molly is cautious around her new stepmother but helps her unpack. Then, she reads to Clare until Clare falls asleep. Mr. Gibson returns home later and asks Molly how her new “mamma” is doing, and Molly asks if she really has to call Clare “mamma.” Gibson says he would prefer that she does, and eventually Molly relents and agrees to call Clare “mamma.”

Through Molly and Gibson’s debate about whether Molly will call Clare “mamma,” the passage directly explores Molly’s fear that Clare may, either intentionally or unintentionally, threaten to replace Mary, Molly’s mother. Notably, Molly eventually relents and agrees to call Clare “mamma,” perhaps in a sign that she is following Roger’s advice and trying to put her own distress aside in order to try and help her father and her family.

Active Themes

Mr. Gibson’s servants start to get frustrated by Clare’s demands. Gibson says that if they don’t like what Clare tells them to do, it’s in their power to leave. Privately, though, Gibson sympathizes with his servants and recognizes how demanding Clare is. However, after Betty threatens to quit, Gibson puts his foot down and fires Betty. Molly can’t believe it, as Betty has lived with the family for Molly’s entire life. Molly tries to defend Betty, but Mr. Gibson says his mind is made up.

This passage explores again the differences in Mr. Gibson and Clare’s personalities and temperaments. While Gibson is calm and even-keeled if sometimes stern, Clare seems to be capricious and demanding. Notably, in a conflict between Clare and Betty, Gibson sides with Clare and fires Betty, further upsetting Molly’s idea of her home, which, for her, has thus far represented a place that’s safe from outside influences but now seems subject to Clare, who Molly still views as an outsider.

Active Themes

Meanwhile, Clare and Mr. Gibson bicker about trivial matters. Mr. Gibson thinks it would almost be a relief if their conflicts were over more consequential issues—Clare seems to always find new trivial things to argue about. Around that same time, Mr. Gibson gets word that Mr. Coxe’s great-uncle is going to name Mr. Coxe his heir—as long as Mr. Coxe goes to live with his uncle for the rest of his uncle’s life. Mr. Coxe therefore leaves the Gibsons’ house, and Mr. Gibson can’t help but wish Coxe’s uncle’s decision hadn’t come a few months earlier, thus sparing Gibson from all the trouble that came when Coxe developed feelings for Molly.

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Gibson’s reaction to Coxe’s departure is perhaps the most telling aspect of Gibson’s attempts to grapple with the issues that have come with his marriage to Clare. Privately, Gibson wishes that Coxe had left earlier and spared him the difficulty that arose from Coxe’s feelings for Molly. In other words, Gibson seems to wish that if he could do everything over, it would have been better if he could have found a way to avoid marrying Clare in the first place.

Active Themes

Wives and Daughters: Chapter 15 Summary & Analysis