Chapter LIII
Dora becomes very ill and is confined to her bed. At her request, Agnes comes to visit. As Dora realizes that she is dying, she confides to David that she was too young to be married when she was. Jip and Dora die at the same time.
Mr. Micawber, who thinks the move to
Australia may be exactly what his family needs, wants to be sure that he
arranges the finances between him and Miss Betsey professionally. Mrs. Micawber
is very concerned that Mr. Micawber should repair her relationship with her
family before they leave.
Agnes, Traddles, David, and Miss Betsey meet to discuss the Micawbers’ finances. Traddles has discovered that he can recover all of Miss Betsey’s money as well as Mr. Wickfield’s. Agnes says she will rent out the house and run a school in order to keep herself and her father financially secure.
David, meanwhile,
decides he will go abroad. Traddles reports that Uriah has left town with his
mother, and no one knows what has become of him. Arrangements are made to
provide for the Micawbers’ debts and raise enough money to get them to
Australia. Furthermore, it is agreed upon that the Micawbers will be introduced
to Mr. Peggotty so that he can be of help in Australia.
Two days later, Miss Betsey takes David to a hospital and to a funeral. She tells him that her husband has died.
David goes to Yarmouth to deliver a
letter from Little Em’ly to Ham so that they may know of each other before
Little Em’ly goes to Australia.
As David travels, a terrific storm blows into Yarmouth, and the sea and wind rage. A ship from Spain is wrecked off the coast, and David and others go to the beach to watch. The lifeboat has been tried and has failed, and there is no way to help. All the men on board have been killed except one, who is hanging onto a mast in his red cap and waving at the shore.
Ham appears out of nowhere and insists on going out into the water with a rope around his waist to try to save the last sailor. After a first failed attempt, Ham gets all the way out, but a gigantic wave sweeps the ship under and kills him. The next morning, David is fetched to the beach, where Steerforth’s body has rolled in with the morning tide.