David Copperfield, Chapter 56 summary

What happens

1. Men carry Steerforth’s body toward a cottage, but move it to an inn rather than place it in an already occupied room.
2. The narrator arranges transport through Joram and travels overnight to bring the body to Steerforth’s mother.
3. At Highgate, the narrator cautiously approaches the news while Rosa Dartle recognizes that something terrible has happened.
4. Rosa announces Steerforth’s death, blames his mother for his character, and describes her own love and rejection.
5. After the narrator urges compassion, Rosa turns from accusation to tending the nearly unresponsive Mrs. Steerforth.
6. Steerforth’s body rests in his mother’s room, and the narrator holds his hand while her moaning breaks the silence.

In this chapter

What to notice

Rosa Dartle’s question exposes the personal suffering beneath her attack on Mrs. Steerforth. She demands recognition for grief that the household has not acknowledged.

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