# Summer — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for Summer by Edith Wharton.

- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/summer_se/chapters/i.md): Charity Royall steps out of lawyer Royall's house in North Dormer on a June afternoon and notices a stranger in city clothes. She reflects on her confinement in the isolated village, recalling a trip to Nettleton that op
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/summer_se/chapters/ii.md): Charity Royall reflects on her past and her relationship with her guardian, Lawyer Royall, after a brief encounter with Lucius Harney at the library. She recalls how she came to live with the Royalls, her decision to sta
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/summer_se/chapters/iii.md): Charity Royall, stung by the revelation that Lucius Harney reported the library's poor condition to Miss Hatchard, decides to resign her post. She goes to the library to collect her things but is overwhelmed by despair. 
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/summer_se/chapters/iv.md): Charity confronts Lucius Harney in the library, accusing him of turning Miss Hatchard against her and causing her to lose her job. Harney explains he only commented on the books' condition and ventilation, not on her per
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/summer_se/chapters/v.md): On a perfect June day, Charity Royall lies on a hillside, immersed in nature. She encounters Liff Hyatt, a man from the Mountain, and questions him about a brown house. Later, Lucius Harney joins her, and she offers to t
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/summer_se/chapters/vi.md): Charity overhears Mr. Royall telling Lucius Harney about the Mountain and her own origins as the child of a convict, causing her shame and despair. She reflects on her growing feelings for Harney and the social distance 
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/summer_se/chapters/vii.md): Charity returns to her library duties after her drive with Harney, but is unsettled by his absence at midday and Mr. Royall's indifference. Harney arrives with Mr. Miles, and later Charity spies on Harney packing to leav
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/summer_se/chapters/viii.md): Charity returns home late from Miss Hatchard's and finds Mr. Royall waiting. The next day, Harney is absent from dinner, and Mr. Royall confronts Charity about being seen entering and leaving Harney's house late at night
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/summer_se/chapters/ix.md): Charity prepares for a trip to Nettleton with Lucius Harney on the Fourth of July, defying Mr. Royall's warnings. She reflects on her growing intimacy with Harney, their secret meetings, and her determination to assert h
- [X](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/summer_se/chapters/x.md): Charity and Harney attend the Fourth of July festivities at Nettleton, where they share an intimate kiss during a fireworks display. They later take a boat out on the lake, enjoying a romantic evening. However, the night
- [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/summer_se/chapters/xi.md): After returning from Nettleton, Charity is consumed by shame and misery. She avoids contact, flees toward the Mountain, but is intercepted by Harney, who found her dropped letters. He comforts her and she reveals Mr. Roy
- [XII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/summer_se/chapters/xii.md): Charity returns to North Dormer after Harney persuades her that flight would be tantamount to admitting guilt. She resumes her usual life, but her inner world is wholly consumed by her secret passion for Harney. During O
- [XIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/summer_se/chapters/xiii.md): During the Old Home Week celebration in the crowded Town Hall, Charity sings with the choir and observes Mr. Royall's moving speech about returning to North Dormer for good. She spots Harney sitting next to Annabel Balch
- [XIV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/summer_se/chapters/xiv.md): Mr. Royall confronts Charity and Harney in the deserted house, exposing Harney's lack of commitment and Charity's shameful origins. After Royall leaves, Harney proposes a vague future marriage before departing. Later, du
- [Chapter XV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/summer_se/chapters/xv.md): After Harney's departure, Charity struggles with shame and uncertainty about their future. She receives a letter from Harney that is tender but vague, and she responds with a postcard. Ally Hawes reveals that Harney is l
- [XVI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/summer_se/chapters/xvi.md): Charity returns to the Mountain, the place of her birth, after learning of her mother's death. She witnesses the bleakness of the settlement and the burial of Mary Hyatt, feeling a profound connection to her origins. Des
- [XVII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/summer_se/chapters/xvii.md): Charity, having fled to the Mountain, spends a night in the Hyatt shanty and awakens to a cold, stark morning. She steals bread for her unborn child, leaves a chemise as payment, and walks toward the pinewood. Mr. Royall
- [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/summer_se/chapters/xviii.md): Charity, exhausted and numb, returns to Nettleton with Mr. Royall after fleeing the Mountain. They marry in a quiet ceremony, then honeymoon at a hotel. Charity struggles with her new reality, feeling trapped and fearful

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/summer_se/chapters