North and South, Chapter 16 summary

What happens

1. Excluded from the medical visit, Margaret insists that Dr. Donaldson tell her the truth about her mother's condition.
2. The doctor reveals the deadly illness, discusses relief from suffering, and advises Margaret to prepare herself before telling her father.
3. Margaret asks her mother to let her nurse her, challenging the belief that knowledge of the illness would drive her away.
4. Memories of Helstone lead Mrs. Hale to regret leaving, before thoughts of Frederick bring an outburst of desperate crying.
5. Margaret follows Dixon's directions, helps settle her mother, and agrees to keep her father uninformed.
6. Dixon shares her long attachment to Mrs. Hale, and Margaret kisses her before leaving for a walk.

In this chapter

What to notice

Margaret asserts her claim to know and care for her mother. Her insistence challenges the protective secrecy maintained around the illness.

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