Chapter 53 Summary

Dora's illness continues with little hope of recovery. Family and friends gather to watch her die, including Agnes, who Dora had specifically sent for. Dora, in her last conversation with David, expresses her belief that it is better for her to die now, full of his love, than to live another ten years as he would grow bitter and distant because she was never going to improve or be a better wife. Finally, after insisting on a private conversation with Agnes, Dora dies.

Chapter 53 Analysis

Dora, in death, is more serious than Dora in life. She recognizes the same things that David does; that their marriage was doomed to failure from the start. Her death is inevitable and foreshadows how David's life will develop now that he has learned the lessons of marrying someone so unsuitable to him. Dora's conversation with Agnes also...