In which we observe the sensitive and troubled Mr. Casaubon, whose hopes for marriage rest more upon duty and propriety than upon joy, navigating the delicate and often strained rhythms of his domestic life with Dorothea, whose own spirit and disquiet find little welcome in his austere presence. An episode of quiet but poignant tension unfolds as Dorothea confronts the sharpness of her husband's mood and the sudden onset of his illness invites the concerned attentions of family and friends, revealing the fragile ties that bind them.