Daisy Burns (Volume 2)

The narrator reevaluates childhood enmities and offers a nuanced portrait of a rival whose outward calm hides selfish passion and a lack of spiritual center. Rivalry over an attachment leads to a painful discovery that drives Cornelius into solitude, work, and inward suffering, from which he slowly recovers. Family dynamics and moral conscience are examined through reflections on pride, charity, and self-idolatry, while the narrator experiences a physical and emotional renewal that restores appetite for outdoor life and prompts a gentler understanding of past faults.