Chapter 39, The Confession Summary and Analysis

William offers to finance Ellen's education at a boarding school in New York, and while Linda is saddened at the thought of being separated from her daughter, she does not wish to limit the young girl's opportunities in life.

Before Ellen departs for school, her mother wishes to tell her the story of her father. Ellen replies that she is aware of who her father is, and that she once spent several months with him in Washington, during which time he took no notice of her (he had, at that time, another daughter with his wife—to whom he granted the attention of a father).

After her daughter's departure, Linda finds herself lonely in her home in Boston, and eventually travels to Rochester to open an anti-slavery reading room with her brother. While this endeavor is...