ility sets him a cut above the rest. Yet in his responsibility there is a sense of pathos, in that Adam defers his own dreams in order to take care of the needs of others. His father, who was once a good carpenter himself and taught Adam his trade, has become a hopeless alcoholic, and as a result, the burden of supporting the family has fallen on Adam's shoulders. Furthermore, Adam had spent his own savings so that his younger brother would not have to join the army. As a result, he has had to put off his goal of marrying until he can become financially ready to do so. When Adam's father falls into the river and drowns on his way home from the pub, there is almost a sense of relief that Adam has one less person to support.
The theme of the novel is that of love misdirected. As Adam's younger brother Seth states early on in the novel: "It's a deep mystery - the way the heart of man turns to one woman out of all the rest he's seen i' the world, and makes it easier for him to work seven year for her, like Jacob did for Rachel, sooner than have any other woman for th' asking" (44). The reader is told early on that Adam loves Hetty Sorrel and would like to marry her, which perturbs Adam's mother a great deal, because if he would be content to marry his boss's daughter Mary Burge, Mr. Burge would make him a partner in his business. But as Seth tells their mother, "thee know'st we canna love just where other folks 'ud have
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