Wives and Daughters Chapter 17 Summary & Analysis

The next day, Molly goes to the Hamleys’ house and finds everyone in distress when she gets there. Mrs. Hamley is confined to bed. Molly tries to comfort Mrs. Hamley by keeping the conversation light, but the conversation then turns to Molly’s difficult relationship with Clare. Ultimately, the subject of Osborne and his failures also comes up. Mrs. Hamley says that the major issue is that Osborne has accrued untold amounts of debt. Now that Osborne has definitively missed out on the fellowship, all of the debt has fallen at Squire Hamley’s feet, and Squire Hamley is scrambling to figure out how to pay it. As a result, Osborne’s reputation is ruined, and Squire Hamley and Mrs. Hamley don’t know exactly where he is.

This passage shows the major challenges that Molly and the Hamley family are facing. On the one hand, Molly’s stepmother Clare seems to want to force a contest of wills between her and Molly. On the other hand, the Hamleys are trying to grapple with Osborne’s failure to live up to his potential, they are also trying to pay for the debts he’s accrued. By presenting those two issues together, the novel draws comparisons between them. Namely, the novel suggests that Squire Hamley may have in common with Clare than initially appears to be the case—notably, both seem intent, as parents, on exacting their authority on their children rather than letting their children make decisions for themselves.

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Due to Osborne’s failures and the difficulties of paying Osborne’s debts, Squire Hamley is also in a sorry state. No one knows exactly how or why Osborne spent so much money. Mrs. Hamley seems to be growing more ill. Mr. Gibson insists that he bring Dr. Nicholls, the leading physician in the county, but Squire Hamley is convinced that Dr. Nicholls will only bring bad news and resists Gibson’s suggestion. Eventually, though, Squire Hamley relents, and Gibson brings Dr. Nicholls to see Mrs. Hamley.

As Osborne’s debts build, Mrs. Hamley’s health worsens, making it clear exactly how dire the circumstances are that the Hamley family has found themselves in. As the story continues, it will examine whether Hamley family will manage to overcome the many challenges they face and what it will take for them to move forward in the face of adversity.

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After Mr. Gibson sees Mrs. Hamley with Dr. Nicholls, Gibson writes to Roger and Osborne telling them to come home immediately, as Mrs. Hamley may not have long to live. No one knows Osborne’s address, so Gibson entrusts his letter to Osborne to Roger, hoping that at least Roger will be able to find a way to get the letter to Osborne. When Molly returns home, Clare says that she hopes Mrs. Hamley passes away soon for her own sake and the sake of her family, as clearly Mrs. Hamley will never recover. Molly can’t believe Clare’s insensitivity.

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The novel uses Clare’s comments about Mrs. Hamley to portray Clare as self-centered and insensitive. Notably, the novel doesn’t necessarily suggest that Clare has bad intentions. Instead, the novel suggests that Clare has good intentions at heart—she wants the Hamley family to be spared of as much suffering as possible—but the way she communicates those ideas is markedly insensitive.

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Clare then tells Molly that to help take her mind off things, she is going to take Molly dancing. Molly says that she can’t imagine dancing at a time like this. Molly turns to Mr. Gibson to resolve the issue, but Gibson just says that he wants peace and quiet. Clare then says that since Molly is not related to Mrs. Hamley, she (Molly) shouldn’t be as invested in Mrs. Hamley as much as she is. Molly puts her foot down and says she won’t go dancing with Clare. In response, Clare says that she is going to give the gown she promised to give to Molly to Cynthia instead. However, the gown seems like it might not fit Cynthia, and Molly suspects the gown will ultimately come to her (Molly) anyway.

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The novel continues to portray Clare as self-centered and oblivious to how her actions affect others. In this case, because Clare wants to go dancing, she insists that Molly should go dancing too, even though Molly is grieving due to Mrs. Hamley’s illness. Clare’s comments also tacitly affirm the novel’s ideas about family. That is, Clare says that Molly isn’t related to Mrs. Hamley, so she shouldn’t grieve. However, the novel makes it clear that Molly and Mrs. Hamley have a close and loving relationship even though they aren’t biologically related.

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Wives and Daughters: Chapter 17 Summary & Analysis