Part 3, Chapter 39 Summary

At nineteen, Eugene graduates with his parents in attendance. They are proud of him; it is clear that he has made a name for himself on campus. In their minds, he is now ready to go out and make his mark in the world. Eugene had decided by the time he was a sophomore that politics was not for him. He has a favorite professor who encourages him to go to Harvard before he settles into a career. He seems destined for some vague kind of literary career.

Gant is more dead than alive and lives in a back room at the boarding house. Eliza now has her hands on his property and is selling it, including the home Gant had built for them before they were married and where the children grew up. She turns the boarding house into a...