Chapters XV, XVI, and XVII Summary

In Chapter XV, Stoner starts to become a kind of living legend around campus. Stories about his confrontation with Lomax abound, most of them with little more than a tenuous connection to the truth. As the years pass, Stoner adds to the legend by his growing eccentricity in the classroom. He habitually becomes so immersed in the subject material he is teaching that he falls into a trance-like state from which he can be retrieved only with difficulty. As he ages, he becomes increasingly indifferent to his domestic situation and finds it easier to spend more time at home. Edith tries to again wage war with him, but her screams and insults do not move him and she gives up. Edith starts to gradually deteriorate mentally. She starts babbling to herself while sculpting (the form...