John Eames gains greater responsibility at work and gradually grows from an immature young man into a more capable adult, although his love for Lily still leads him through disappointment and mistakes, while Crosbie discovers that his marriage to Alexandrina has failed to bring the happiness and social satisfaction he once expected, and as the tensions surrounding the Dale family begin to settle, Johnny again hopes to win Lily’s heart but she refuses to replace one lost love with another marriage, allowing the novel to close with each character facing the consequences of choice, love, maturity, and independence.
