Summary

Volume I, Chapter X began with Hope asking Esther why she withheld being acquainted with Everell. Hope hinted that she thought Esther was in love, sending Esther into distress. Esther decided to tell her the truth. She was “reserved, tender, and timid” and admirably followed the rules of her Puritan faith “both by word, and work” (80). At age 19, Esther met Everell while he stayed with her father upon arriving in England. Despite her piousness, Esther fell in love. Perceiving that Everell did not reciprocate her feelings, Esther “awakened from what appeared to her a sinful dream” (81). She fell into a near fatal illness, recovering only after she admitted her love to Everell. Esther relocated to Boston to live with her aunt, Mrs. Winthrop, where she met Hope. Hope insisted that she would help Esther in her romantic...