Uncle Silas · Chapter
XV: Milly’s Farewell explained
Maud recovers from her fright and is comforted by Milly's company, but Uncle Silas pressures her to marry Dudley.
What happens
Maud recovers from her fright and is comforted by Milly's company, but Uncle Silas pressures her to marry Dudley. Milly is sent away to a French school, and Maud is left alone at Bartram-Haugh.
Themes in this chapter
Isolation and Imprisonment
Maud feels trapped at Bartram-Haugh, and Milly's departure leaves her in a 'vale of tears' and 'solitude.'
Deception and Appearance
Uncle Silas presents himself as a broken suppliant, but his manipulation and hidden motives are apparent.
Family and Heredity
Uncle Silas appeals to family duty and the Ruthyn bloodline to pressure Maud into marrying Dudley.
Characters to notice
- Maud Ruthyn
Maud is recovering from her ghostly fright and resists Uncle Silas's renewed suit for her to marry Dudley. She is devastated by Milly's departure.
- Uncle Silas
Uncle Silas pressures Maud to accept Dudley's proposal, pleading desperately and invoking his misery and the fate of the Ruthyn line.
- Milly Ruthyn
Milly is heartbroken to be sent away to a French school and bids a tearful farewell to Maud.
- Dudley Ruthyn
Dudley is the subject of Uncle Silas's suit; Maud finds him odious and refuses to marry him.
- Doctor Jolks
Doctor Jolks reassures Maud about her health and dismisses her ghostly experience.
- Mrs. Rusk
Mrs. Jolks accompanies Milly to London for her journey to France.
Key passages
“I’m very miserable—very nearly desperate. What remains for me—what remains? Fortune has done her worst—thrown in the dust, her wheels rolled over me; and the servile world, who follow her chariot like a mob, stamp upon the mangled wretch.”
Uncle Silas claims he is utterly ruined and abandoned by fortune, and that the world has trampled him.
Uncle Silas uses melodramatic language to evoke pity and manipulate Maud.
“Oh! Maud—Maud darling, he’s going to send me away.”
Milly cries out that her father is sending her away from Bartram.
Milly's distress highlights her dependence on Maud and her fear of the unknown.
“I threw myself on my knees, and thanked Heaven for the firmness vouchsafed me; I could not believe it to have been my own.”
Maud prays in gratitude for her strength to resist Uncle Silas, feeling it was divinely given.
Maud's religious faith supports her defiance against her uncle's pressure.