Previous
Chapter 23
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Wives and Daughters, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Friendship
Class, Status, and Romance
Independence, Opportunities, and Gender
Challenges, Growth, and Community
Gossip and Rumors
Summary
Analysis
The Friday after Cynthia and Molly meet Roger at the Brownings’ house, Roger and Osborne come to the Gibsons’ house for dinner. Over dinner, Molly wishes that Roger would talk to her, but he talks to Mr. Gibson about an article on osteology that Gibson recently read in a scientific journal. At one point, Cynthia looks up and can’t help but notice that Roger is staring at her with admiration in his eyes.
While Osborne has failed his classes at Cambridge, Roger has unexpectedly become a star student, underlining the novel’s point that while Osborne attracted all the attention when he and Roger were younger, Roger was perhaps the more worthy object of that attention.
Active
Themes
After dinner, Roger talks with Cynthia about the Easter ball. Cynthia is excited that she’ll be going with Molly, and Roger remarks that he’s glad that Cynthia and Molly have become such good friends. The group then retires to the living room, where Cynthia entertains them with her singing. Molly notices how closely Roger pays attention to Cynthia’s singing, and she suddenly feels overwhelmingly sad. She chastises herself for having these feelings, thinking that she’s being envious of Cynthia and is being selfish. Clare insists that Molly should play piano. When Molly plays, Osborne politely pays attention to her, while Roger speaks to Cynthia.
Active
Themes
Literary Devices
