# XV: The Last Resource explained — New Grub Street

> Chapter companion for New Grub Street by George Gissing.

## What happens

Edwin Reardon, now aged and worn by poverty and anxiety, struggles to complete a one-volume novel after months of labor. His marriage to Amy is strained by financial desperation and mutual resentment. Jasper Milvain visits briefly, discussing the three-volume system and the literary marketplace. Reardon reflects on his lost creative freedom and considers abandoning literature altogether.

## Themes in this chapter

### Poverty and Class

Reardon's physical and mental decline is directly tied to his financial desperation; poverty is compared to slavery.

### Artistic Integrity vs. Commercialism

Reardon laments writing for money rather than for art, contrasting his past creative freedom with the pressure of the three-volume system.

### Marriage and Money

The strain of poverty erodes the Reardons' marriage, leading to resentment and emotional distance.

## Character check-ins

### Edwin Reardon

Aged by poverty and anxiety, he struggles to write and is haunted by his past creative freedom.

### Amy Reardon

Bitter and strained, she spends more time at her mother's house to save food and avoid conflict.

### Jasper Milvain

Visits briefly, discusses the three-volume system and the literary marketplace; estrangement from Reardon grows.

### Harold Biffen

Mentioned as a recipient of Reardon's new novel, though Reardon fears Biffen will despise him.

## Key lines

> poverty is to the modern world just what that of slavery was to the ancient. Rich and destitute stand to each other as free man and bond.

Poverty in modern times is as degrading as slavery was in ancient times, creating a divide between the rich and the poor.

_Reardon articulates the theme of poverty as a form of social bondage._

> The work was done for its own sake. No hurry to finish it; if I felt that I wasn't up to the mark, I just waited till the better mood returned.

He used to write purely for the love of it, without financial pressure, and could afford to wait for inspiration.

_Reardon contrasts his past artistic integrity with his current commercial desperation._

> A triple-headed monster, sucking the blood of English novelists.

The three-volume novel system is a monstrous force that drains the life from writers.

_Milvain criticizes the three-volume system as exploitative of authors._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xv-the-last-resource
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/new_grub_street_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters