# Chapter XXXVII explained — Look Homeward, Angel

> Chapter companion for Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe.

## What happens

Eugene Gant, reeling from the death of his brother Ben, struggles with grief and the suffocating atmosphere at home. He confronts his mother Eliza's self-deceptive nostalgia and his sister Helen's resentment, feeling an urgent need to escape. He visits Ben's grave at the cemetery, where he encounters Mrs. Pert, and resolves to leave for school the next day, haunted by the cyclical pain of loss and the imperative to find himself.

## Themes in this chapter

### Loss, Innocence, and the Passage of Time

Eugene's grief over Ben's death and the irrevocable loss of childhood are central, with the refrain 'we shall not come again' emphasizing the passage of time.

### The Power of Memory and the Past

Eliza's false memories of a tender past and Eugene's internal struggle with the past's grip highlight how memory shapes and distorts present experience.

### Alienation and Loneliness

Eugene feels profoundly alone, even among family, and the inner voice urges him to escape or die, underscoring his isolation.

## Character check-ins

### Eugene Gant

Grieves for Ben, feels trapped by family, and decides to leave home to find himself.

### Eliza Gant

Sits by the fire weaving false memories of the past; pleads with Eugene to stay.

### Helen Gant

Expresses resentment at having to care for their father, feeling cheated by Ben's unexpected death.

### Ben Gant

Recently deceased; his absence dominates the chapter, and Eugene imagines his return in nature.

### Oliver Gant

Mentioned as not dying despite expectations, a source of Helen's frustration.

### Hugh Barton

Referenced as Helen's husband, part of her argument for independence.

## Key lines

> O lost, and by the wind grieved, ghost, come back again!

Eugene calls out to Ben's spirit, mourning his absence and longing for his return.

_Reflects Eugene's deep grief and the novel's recurring motif of loss._

> You are alone now. You are lost. Go find yourself, lost boy, beyond the hills.

An inner voice tells Eugene he must leave home to discover his own identity.

_Captures Eugene's internal conflict and the theme of self-discovery._

> I can’t go now and leave her here alone. (She is alone, it said, and so are you.)

Eugene hesitates to abandon his grieving mother, but his inner voice insists they are both isolated.

_Highlights the tension between familial duty and personal survival._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/look_homeward_angel_se/chapters/part-iii-xxxvii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/look_homeward_angel_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/look_homeward_angel_se/chapters