The Way of All Flesh · Chapter
LXXIX explained
Ernest and Overton arrange for the care of Ernest's children, placing them with a couple near Gravesend.
What happens
Ernest and Overton arrange for the care of Ernest's children, placing them with a couple near Gravesend. Ernest insists they be raised among the poor, fearing he will repeat his father's mistakes. Overton then takes Ernest to a doctor who diagnoses nervous prostration and prescribes a regimen of 'crossing'—including visits to the Zoological Gardens and other London amusements—before recommending a trip abroad. Ernest begins to recover, and they plan a journey to Italy.
Themes in this chapter
Heredity and Environment
Ernest fears repeating the parenting patterns of his father and grandfather, and chooses a poor environment for his children to avoid creating false expectations.
Self-Discovery and Authenticity
Ernest's recovery through 'crossing' and exposure to new experiences reflects a journey toward self-renewal and authenticity.
Characters to notice
- Ernest Pontifex
Arranges for his children's upbringing, insists on a poor environment, suffers from nervous prostration, begins recovery through prescribed amusements.
- Mr. Overton
Manages the children's expenses, accompanies Ernest to the doctor and the Zoological Gardens, plans the Italian trip.
- Theobald Pontifex
Mentioned as Ernest's father, whose parenting Ernest fears repeating.
- George Pontifex
Mentioned as Ernest's grandfather, whose parenting Ernest fears repeating.
- Alethea Pontifex
Mentioned as the source of the fortune, with an understanding with Overton.
Key passages
“I shall be just as unkind to my children as my grandfather was to my father, or my father to me.”
Ernest believes he will inevitably be as harsh to his own children as his father and grandfather were to him.
Ernest expresses a fatalistic view of inherited parenting flaws.
“Crossing is the great medical discovery of the age. Shake him out of himself by shaking something else into him.”
The doctor prescribes 'crossing'—exposure to new experiences—as a cure for Ernest's nervous exhaustion.
The doctor's unconventional remedy emphasizes the therapeutic value of novelty and distraction.
“As for the elephants, especially the baby elephant, he seemed to be drinking in large draughts of their lives to the recreation and regeneration of his own.”
Ernest absorbed vitality from watching the elephants, which helped restore his own spirit.
The elephants symbolize a source of renewal for Ernest's depleted energy.