An American Tragedy Volume 1 Book 1 Chapter XVI

In which Hortense endeavours with cunning to secure a costly coat on credit, while Clyde grapples with burdensome financial entanglements that press upon both his own desires and the troubles of his family. The weary household, shadowed by illness and whispered hardships, finds itself leaning on the slender shoulders of a young man torn between duty and longing.