# XV explained — William—An Englishman > Chapter companion for William—An Englishman by Cicely Hamilton. ## What happens William returns to London alone after Griselda's death, haunted by their shared possessions and photograph. He seeks refuge at a familiar socialist meeting, but feels detached and alienated from the proceedings. Faraday delivers a passionate speech wrestling with his own doubts about the war, while William is roused from his numbness by Jay-Blenkinsop's smug rhetoric. ## Themes in this chapter ### Grief and Isolation William's profound grief over Griselda's death isolates him from the familiar world of the meeting, making everything seem unreal. ### Ideological Dogmatism Faraday and the meeting attendees cling to pre-war pacifist dogma, struggling to accept the reality of the war. ### War and Illusion The war shatters the illusions of both William and Faraday, forcing them to confront a brutal new reality that renders their old battles trivial. ## Character check-ins ### William Tully Returns to the empty flat, grieves over Griselda's photograph, and attends Faraday's meeting feeling detached and unreal. ### Griselda Tully Her absence pervades the chapter; William mourns her death and cannot bear the reminders of their life together. ### Faraday Speaks passionately at the meeting, wrestling with his own doubts about the war and the pacifist cause. ### Edgar Jay-Blenkinsop Drawls scornfully about Labour Party treachery, provoking William's anger. ### Edwardes Quacks earnestly about branch propaganda, embodying the unreality of the meeting for William. ### Mrs. Jay-Blenkinsop Present at the meeting, frowning through her pince-nez and gazing admiringly at her son. ## Key lines > She threw up her hands with a screaming exclamation as he hurried past her to shut himself into the bedroom. The housekeeper gasped and cried out as William rushed past her and locked himself in the bedroom. _William's abrupt announcement of Griselda's death shocks the housekeeper._ > Something separated and held him removed from them. He felt cut off from the others, as if an invisible barrier kept him apart. _William's grief creates a sense of detachment from the meeting._ > He fought with and poured scorn on himself in the name of others, rallying his feebleness with argument and sneering at his own hesitations. Faraday argued against his own doubts, using self-mockery to bolster his convictions. _Faraday's speech is an internal struggle, not just a political address._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/william_an_englishman_se/chapters/xv - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/william_an_englishman_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/william_an_englishman_se/chapters