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This very important chapter presents an analysis of Isabel's relationship with her husband.

Isabel believes the resentment stems from the fact that Ralph was 'generous and her husband was not.' Thus the question Isabel faces is what to do or what ought she to do when her husband hates her. Her mind was to be his - attached to his own like a small garden-plot.' He even resented the fact that Isabel visited Ralph. He was fond of the old, the consecrated, the transmitted.' Her 'real offence. For Osmond, life was 'altogether a thing of forms, a conscious, calculated attitude. But under 'all his culture, his cleverness, his amenity, under his good-nature, his facility, his knowledge of life, his egotism lay hidden like a serpent in a bank of flowers.' He has a sovereign contempt for almost everybody. She had hoped to use it to help her husband. She now understands that her money has become a burden to her. Yet, she knew that she was a distinct individual and had to abide by her own nature. He wanted her to become a slave to him and to act as he wanted her to. She tried to conform to his wishes until she realized that he wanted her to change completely, totally. She realized some time after their marriage that her husband objected to some of her ideas. Suffering for her has become an active condition. She has developed a distinct distrust for her husband. As with his comments about Lord Warburton, everything he touches turns to something ugly and unpleasant. This thought leads her to re-examine her marriage with Osmond. She wonders if Lord Warburton is in fact interested in Pansy because he still harbors a love for her.

Osmond's demand upon Isabel causes her to review her life.

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