Summary

Now that Mrs. Sparsit has wormed her way back into the Bounderby estate, she spends the majority of her time flattering Bounderby and searching out ways to ruin Louisa’s life. For example, she continually points out to Bounderby the amount of time Louisa spends with Harthouse. She begins to obsess over Louisa and Harthouse’s relationship, imagining Louisa on a giant staircase leading into a black abyss. She relishes the thought of Louisa running down the staircase and falling into the abyss.

At the same time, Louisa receives a letter from home stating that her mother is near death. Louisa rushes back to Stone Lodge to be by her mother’s side. As she approaches her childhood home, Louisa is filled with heavy sorrow rather than sentimental happiness. There, she is reunited with her younger sister Jane, who has been raised primarily by Sissy. Louisa...