The Dewy Morn · Chapter
XXIII explained
Felise grows from girlhood to womanhood under the colorless, obsessive gaze of Robert Godwin, whose suppressed passion for her manifests as reflexive opposition and petty tyranny.
What happens
Felise grows from girlhood to womanhood under the colorless, obsessive gaze of Robert Godwin, whose suppressed passion for her manifests as reflexive opposition and petty tyranny. He encloses the hamlet spring to spite Mr. Goring, but Goring responds calmly and legally. Felise, preoccupied with Martial's troubles, visits Godwin's house to see Ruy, the horse Martial sold. Her nearness overwhelms Godwin, reawakening hope after nine years.
Themes in this chapter
Obsession and Jealousy
Godwin's nine-year fixation on Felise, his reflexive opposition to her happiness, and his jealousy-driven enclosure of the spring exemplify destructive obsession.
Social Class and Injustice
Godwin's enclosure of the spring abuses his steward authority to oppress the hamlet women and spite Mr. Goring, highlighting class-based power imbalances.
Freedom vs. Control
Godwin's attempt to control access to water and his desire to control Felise's life contrast with the villagers' and Mr. Goring's resistance.
Characters to notice
- Felise Goring
Now a woman, she is preoccupied with Martial's financial troubles and visits Godwin's house to see Ruy.
- Robert Godwin
His obsessive, suppressed love for Felise drives him to oppose her and her uncle; he encloses the spring and is overwhelmed by her nearness.
- Mr. Goring
Responds to Godwin's enclosure of the spring with calm legality, opening his own pump to the villagers and consulting a lawyer.
- Martial Barnard
His financial difficulties are implied by his sale of Ruy; Felise is anxious about him.
- Ruy
The horse formerly owned by Martial, now kept by Godwin; Felise visits to see him.
- Mary Shaw
A village gossip who has secretly conversed with Martial and received a kiss; she withholds this from Felise.
Key passages
“And while her physical frame grew, and her moral being was strengthened, all these nine years from girlhood to womanhood, a colourless eye watched her—the eye of Robert Godwin.”
Throughout Felise's nine-year transition from girl to woman, Robert Godwin observed her with a detached, emotionless gaze.
Establishes Godwin's long-term, obsessive surveillance of Felise.
“He could not have her—he was ready, like a tiger, to tear to pieces, anything or anyone she preferred, to oppose her, to cross her, and almost injure her.”
Unable to possess Felise, Godwin became destructively inclined to oppose and harm anyone she favored.
Illustrates the reflexive hostility of Godwin's suppressed passion.
“Robert Godwin’s real object in enclosing the spring was known only to himself—it was to spite and annoy Felise’s nearest friend.”
Godwin's true motive for fencing off the spring was to vex Mr. Goring, Felise's uncle.
Reveals the personal vendetta behind the seemingly official action.
“Her presence, the touch of her dress, the faint warmth of her breath—he felt her; it was almost an embrace.”
Felise's proximity, the brush of her clothing, and her warm breath overwhelmed Godwin, feeling like an intimate caress.
Captures Godwin's intense sensory experience of Felise's nearness.
“Great indeed is the commotion hope arouses when it has been absent many years. Nine years had passed without hope—now hope returned.”
Hope, long absent for nine years, now stirred powerfully within Godwin.
Highlights the transformative impact of renewed hope on Godwin.
