Do you think she would have told her sons?Even if she did,what would have been the effect? What could they have done?Do you really think they would have offered her a refuge?How long would it have been before Shakelton ( well within his rights)asked for her to come back?

I think she was too proud,expecially in the circumstances of her sdecond marriage, and the social ostracision she suffered as a result, to ask for help.But that is just my impression.

In turth there was very little practical help her sons could ahve given to her.Wives,not even batterd ones, had few rights or protection in the 18th cenutry.

Now, I ought to gently point out the rules of a group read.( to be found under the group Read Header at the top of the page, whihc include the following:

Please post only about the chapters scheduled to be discussed. To do otherwise constitutes "spoilers", a practice which may "spoil" the read for first-timers by talking about information they have not yet read. Even if the Group Read is a book which we have all read many times before, we find that keeping a strict adherence to the schedule focuses us on "the now", which may offer insights not to be found if we are continually running ahead.