Chapter 15

Summary

Godfrey watches his daughter growing up with great interest but doesn't dare to make his interest too obvious. His life has now gained stability, and Godfrey sees to it that Eppie is well provided for. Dunstan has not returned, and his courtship with Nancy is sailing smoothly. Godfrey dreams about his future with Nancy, happily married, playing with his children.

Godfrey now seems "like a man of fairness." In this description, Eliot is ironically contrasting the appearance Godfrey maintains with the weakness beneath the exterior. Although Godfrey has settled down after the death of Molly, he is still not strong enough to come out with the truth about Eppie. Instead, he quietly finds ways of providing for her. The metaphor of the ring which "pricked its owner when he forgot duty and followed desire," foreshadows the incorrigible regret that Godfrey is to feel later in the novel.

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