The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Vol. II, Chapter 11 - Domestic Scenes

In which the languor and irritability of a once-spirited gentleman return to try the patience of his devoted wife, who yet strives with gentle firmness to preserve his health and dignity against the tempting allure of despondency and excess. Their days pass between tender anxieties for their ailing child, uneasy companionship, and the faint hope that renewal might arise from distant change, though the approach of spring brings a foreboding as keen as the budding season’s promise.