The Well of Loneliness

Back at Morton, Stephen is elated to be home among her things and her horses. She goes to visit Williams, who chides her for leaving the horses alone for so long. Now that he is unemployed, he spends all his spare time reading the parts of the Bible that mention horses. He tells Stephen he thinks horses are too good for heaven, causing his wife to bicker with him. Even in their bickering, Stephen can see their love, and she is reminded of her loneliness again. 

Angela extends her visit to Scotland, leaving Stephen full of “disappointment.” In her place, however, Violet Antrim returns, happily engaged and ready to gloat to Stephen. She tries to give Stephen advice about how to be more feminine so she can find a husband, too, but Stephen says she is “getting on nicely” without Violet’s help (156). Violet then intimates that, while in Scotland, it seemed like Angela was falling for Roger. This upsets Stephen, so she drives to the telegraph office and sends Angela a note demanding her immediate return.

Angela replies the next morning. She refuses to come home and tells Stephen not to contact her while she is in Scotland, since it’s bothering Ralph. Stephen destroys the note and feels overwhelmed by an “uncontrollable anger.”

On the day Angela gets back into town, Stephen can think of nothing else but Angela’s arrival. When evening arrives and she has not heard from Angela, she puts the pearl she bought in her pocket and leaves. Stephen shows up at Angela’s to find Angela unpacking. Angela is “not looking well,” and after a few minutes she has Stephen follow her to her room so they can talk in private (158). When they are alone, Stephen asks Angela if she feels something for Roger Antrim. Angela denies it. Stephen starts to profess her love to Angela, but Angela stops her, saying it’s “too much.” She cries, and Stephen tries to comfort her. As Stephen is holding her, Angela almost confesses the truth—that she is involved with Roger—but she likes having Stephen in her life, so she keeps it to herself. Angela then starts talking about her childhood in Virginia and her mother’s death. She explains how her family lost their fortune during the Civil War, and how she and her father had traveled to New York in hopes of rebuilding what they had lost. Her father was unsuccessful and died quickly after their arrival, leaving Angela to fend for herself. In an effort to survive, she became an underpaid and very unhappy dancer. Eventually, Ralph came along, and, as he seemed different from the rest of the men who came to watch her dance, she agreed to a few lunches with him. Soon after, he proposed to Angela, who, having no other possibility of financial security, accepted. She says that he holds his rescuing her from poverty over her head constantly. She lives in fear of returning to a life of poverty, and that is why she can never dream of a life without Ralph. In response to this long confession, Stephen gives Angela the pearl ring. She slips it on Angela’s finger, and Angela falls asleep in Stephen’s arms. 

Since returning from Scotland, Ralph is now egregiously “rude” to Stephen and degrading to Angela. Stephen believes this is partly because of the ring she gave Angela. Stephen is embarrassed by how much she allows Ralph to insult her but tells herself this is worth putting up with to make Angela happy.

Puddle gets angry at God when she gets wind of Roger and Angela’s romance. Roger is aware that he is upsetting Stephen and Ralph by being a part of Angela’s life. However, Ralph and Roger are able to bond over their mutual hate of Stephen, whereas Stephen is completely alone.

Stephen grows more jealous as Angela becomes more involved with Roger. Angela often leaves for London under the pretense of business while really visiting Roger. She refuses to let Stephen read Roger’s letters or come with her to London. One day, Ralph and Angela ride off together into the hills—the same hills where Stephen and Angela used to go for privacy. Back at Morton, Stephen weeps beside the lake.

Desperate with love for Angela, Stephen tries to fill the void with shiny new things, but the joy her new purchases bring is fleeting and she quickly feels lonely again. Stephen grows to hate her body. Staring in the mirror, she prays for help.

Violet Antrim keeps coming over to brag about her engagement and to ply Stephen for information about Roger and Angela, whose scandalous affair is now attracting county-wide attention. Stephen is jealous that society valued Violet’s love but not her own.

Stephen continues to blindly believe Angela’s lies that she is not involved with Roger, not realizing that Angela is using Stephen to distract Ralph from her and Roger’s much more serious affair. Angela also uses Stephen to make Roger jealous. Stephen tries to make Angela happy by fencing in front of her, taking her for drives, and offering her material comforts. One night they drive far from town and have dinner at an inn. The setting is romantic, but they can’t seem to get comfortable in this public setting, so they end up leaving full of “painful frustration” (173). On the drive home, Angela falls asleep, and Stephen brings her to Morton to sleep. Angela wakes up and starts crying when she realizes where she is.