The Way of All Flesh · Chapter
LXVII explained
Ernest, upon learning he has no money after prison, resolves to cut ties with his parents and pursue a life of manual labor, rejecting gentility.
What happens
Ernest, upon learning he has no money after prison, resolves to cut ties with his parents and pursue a life of manual labor, rejecting gentility. He reflects on his aunt's advice to 'kiss the soil' and decides to become a tailor. He receives a letter from his father offering £75-£100 for emigration, but Ernest ignores it, feeling that only absolute independence can save him.
Themes in this chapter
Self-Discovery and Authenticity
Ernest chooses to 'kiss the soil' and pursue a humble trade, rejecting conventional respectability to find his true path.
Parental Tyranny and Filial Rebellion
Ernest decides to sever all ties with his parents to escape their control and achieve independence.
Money and Social Class
Ernest's loss of fortune forces him to abandon dreams of farming and embrace a lower social class as a tailor.
Characters to notice
- Ernest Pontifex
Resolves to cut ties with parents and become a tailor after losing his money.
- Theobald Pontifex
Writes a letter to Ernest offering money for emigration and expressing disappointment.
- Christina Pontifex
Adds a postscript to Theobald's letter, expressing love and hope for reunion.
- Alethea Pontifex
Ernest recalls her advice about 'kissing the soil' and learning carpentering.
- Mr. Overton
Informed Theobald about Ernest's loss of legacy; encourages Ernest's plans.
Key passages
“He wanted to drop the gentleman and go down into the ranks, beginning on the lowest rung of the ladder, where no one would know of his disgrace or mind it if he did know”
Ernest wished to abandon his gentlemanly status and start at the very bottom of society, where his past shame would be unknown or irrelevant.
Ernest's desire to escape his social position and start anew.
“Absolute independence he believed to be his only chance of very life itself.”
Ernest was convinced that complete freedom from his family was essential for his survival.
Ernest's conviction that cutting ties is necessary for his future.
“There are orphanages for children who have lost their parents—oh! why, why, why, are there no harbours of refuge for grown men who have not yet lost them?”
Ernest laments that while orphanages exist for parentless children, there is no refuge for adults still burdened by living parents.
Ernest's bitter wish for escape from his parents' influence.