Summary — Chapter LIII. Another Retrospect
Dora becomes very ill and is confined to her
bed. David misses her company terribly. Agnes comes to visit. As
Dora realizes that she is dying, she confides to David that she
was too young to be married when she was. David wonders whether
it would have been better if they had loved each other as children
and then forgotten about their affair. While Agnes is upstairs,
the little dog, Jip, whines at the stairs to go up to his mistress.
Jip comes to David, licks his hand, and dies in front of him. When
Agnes comes down, she says that Dora has died too.
Summary — Chapter LIV. Mr. Micawber’s Transactions
Mr. Micawber, who thinks the move to Australia may be
exactly what his family needs, wants to be sure that he arranges
the finances between him and Miss Betsey professionally. Mrs. Micawber
is very concerned that Mr. Micawber should repair her relationship
with her family before they leave.
Agnes, Traddles, David, and Miss Betsey meet to discuss
the Micawbers’ finances. Traddles has discovered that he can recover
all of Miss Betsey’s money as well as Mr. Wickfield’s. Agnes says
she will rent out the house and run a school in order to keep herself
and her father financially secure.
David, meanwhile, decides he will go abroad. Traddles
reports that Uriah has left town with his mother, and no one knows
what has become of him. Arrangements are made to provide for the Micawbers’
debts and raise enough money to get them to Australia. Two days
later, Miss Betsey takes David to a hospital and to a funeral. She
tells him that her husband has died, and that he will not be a threat
to her anymore.
Summary — Chapter LV. Tempest
David goes to Yarmouth to deliver a letter from Little
Em’ly to Ham so that they may know of each other before Little Em’ly
goes to Australia. As David travels, a terrific storm blows into
Yarmouth, and the sea and wind rage. A ship from Spain is wrecked
off the coast, and David and others go to the beach to watch its
fate. The lifeboat has been tried and has failed, and there is no
way to help. All the men on board have been killed except one, who
is hanging onto a mast in his red cap and waving at the shore. Ham
appears out of nowhere, back from a job he has been working on,
and insists on going out into the water with a rope around his waist
to try to save the last sailor. After a first failed attempt, Ham
gets all the way out, but a gigantic wave sweeps the ship under
and kills him. The next morning, David is fetched to the beach,
where Steerforth’s body has rolled in with the morning tide.
Summary — Chapter LVI. The New Wound,
and the Old
David goes to Mrs. Steerforth and informs her that her
son is dead. She is an invalid now and is lying in Steerforth’s
room. Miss Dartle is present when David relays the news. She lashes
out at Mrs. Steerforth, challenging her right to mourn her son,
whom she made the monster he was, when she, Miss Dartle, loved Steerforth
so much. Mrs. Steerforth becomes completely rigid and does not recover
from the shock of learning of the death of her son.
