Discovery of Her Father’s Death
Moved by the advertisement, the narrator resolves to return home to beg her father’s forgiveness, only to discover upon making inquiries that he died a month earlier. He had lamented her absence on his deathbed, and left his entire fortune to a stranger as punishment for her unkind, undutiful behavior. This revelation plunges her into profound remorse, and she holds herself directly responsible for his death.
Horatio’s Desertion
Consumed by grief, the narrator loses all interest in socializing, and her former acquaintances abandon her as her mood grows increasingly dark. Horatio, either repulsed by her melancholy or motivated by other unstated reasons, grows steadily more distant before leaving her entirely, offering no apology and no financial support despite his central role in her ruin.
The Betrayal Revealed
After Horatio’s departure, the narrator learns that the reported fight between Lothario and Horatio was completely fabricated: it was a calculated scheme designed to remove Lothario from her life, and to give Horatio a credible reason to pursue her, after he had spotted her at the home of the man who seduced her.
The Old Gentlewoman’s Proposition
Left destitute and embittered by Horatio’s betrayal, the narrator resolves to take revenge on men by employing the same manipulative, cruel tactics they used against her. Soon after, an older woman visits her, feigning sympathy for her misfortunes and professing disinterested friendship, before subtly suggesting that the narrator can build a fortune using the natural beauty she has been gifted, by forming relationships with wealthy men. The woman offers to act as her procurer, and proposes splitting all profits from these arrangements equally between them.
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