The Way of All Flesh · Chapter
LXXII explained
Ernest, newly released from prison and believing himself impoverished, is persuaded by Ellen to open a secondhand clothes shop near the Elephant and Castle.
What happens
Ernest, newly released from prison and believing himself impoverished, is persuaded by Ellen to open a secondhand clothes shop near the Elephant and Castle. Overton, his godfather, is furious at the match but reluctantly finances the shop. Ellen finds a dilapidated, ill-reputed house that Overton leases and renovates. Ernest, infatuated and defiant, insists on marrying Ellen immediately, rejecting Overton's pleas for delay.
Themes in this chapter
Money and Social Class
Ernest's belief that he is an artisan leads him to embrace a lower-class trade and marriage, while Overton's anger reflects class prejudice.
Self-Discovery and Authenticity
Ernest chooses a life of manual labor and love over social expectations, asserting his own path despite opposition.
Characters to notice
- Ernest Pontifex
Determined to marry Ellen and open a shop; radiant with happiness but stubborn against Overton's advice.
- Ellen
Proposes the shop idea, finds the premises, and appears demure and pretty; Overton instinctively dislikes her.
- Mr. Overton
Narrator and godfather; angry and vexed at Ernest's plan, but finances the shop and lease.
Key passages
“I had begun to like Ernest. I don’t know why, but I never have heard that any young man to whom I had become attached was going to get married without hating his intended instinctively, though I had never seen her;”
Overton admits that he automatically dislikes any woman a young man he cares about plans to marry, even before meeting her.
Overton's instinctive jealousy or protectiveness toward Ernest.
“An empty house is like a stray dog or a body from which life has departed. Decay sets in at once in every part of it, and what mould and wind and weather would spare, street boys commonly destroy.”
An unoccupied house quickly falls into ruin, as neglect and vandalism take hold.
Vivid description of the dilapidated shop premises.