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Lilith · Chapters

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Chapter companions for Lilith by George MacDonald.

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  1. Chapter 1

    Epigraph

    The epigraph recounts a meditative walk on Spaulding's Farm, where the narrator perceives an invisible, serene family living in harmony with nature, whose presence enriches the landscape and inspires a sense of wonder and belonging.

  2. Chapter 2

    Lilith

    The chapter introduces the character of Lilith, a mysterious and powerful figure, and sets the stage for the unfolding romance and conflict.

  3. Chapter 3

    The Library

    Mr. Vane, having just finished his studies at Oxford, returns to his ancestral estate. While reading in the library, he experiences strange visions and encounters with a mysterious old man, later identified as Mr. Raven, a legendary librarian. The butler reveals the house's haunted history, and Vane discovers a mutilated volume that seems to move on its own, deepening the mystery.

  4. Chapter 4

    The Mirror

    Mr. Vane, having resolved to inspect the books in the library closet, sees a shadowy figure of an old librarian and follows him through the house up into the garret. There he discovers a tall mirror with an ebony frame and a black eagle. Looking into it, he sees not his own reflection but a wild landscape, and stepping closer, he stumbles through the frame and finds himself standing face to beak with a raven on a desolate heath.

  5. Chapter 5

    III: The Raven

    Mr. Vane finds himself in a strange, vague world and is addressed by a raven who speaks to him. The raven explains that Vane came through a 'door out' and advises him to begin doing something to make himself at home. Vane wanders into a wood, encounters a shimmering form, and is shocked back into his garret. He flees in terror, resolves to leave the house, but later discovers a mutilated manuscript in a hidden door that stirs strange feelings within him.

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  1. Chapter 6Somewhere or Nowhere?
  2. Chapter 7V: The Old Church
  3. Chapter 8The Sexton's Cottage
  4. Chapter 9The Cemetery
  5. Chapter 10My Father's Manuscript
  6. Chapter 11IX: I Repent
  7. Chapter 12X: The Bad Burrow
  8. Chapter 13XI: The Evil Wood
  9. Chapter 14Friends and Foes
  10. Chapter 15XIII: The Little Ones
  11. Chapter 16A Crisis
  12. Chapter 17XV: A Strange Hostess
  13. Chapter 18XVI: A Gruesome Dance
  14. Chapter 19A Grotesque Tragedy
  15. Chapter 20XVIII: Dead or Alive?
  16. Chapter 21XIX: The White Leech
  17. Chapter 22XX: Gone!—But How?
  18. Chapter 23XXI: The Fugitive Mother
  19. Chapter 24XXII: Bulika
  20. Chapter 25A Woman of Bulika
  21. Chapter 26XXIV: The White Leopardess
  22. Chapter 27XXV: The Princess
  23. Chapter 28XXVI: A Battle Royal
  24. Chapter 29The Silent Fountain
  25. Chapter 30XXVIII: I Am Silenced
  26. Chapter 31XXIX: The Persian Cat
  27. Chapter 32Adam Explains
  28. Chapter 33XXXI: The Sexton’s Old Horse
  29. Chapter 34Lona's Narrative
  30. Chapter 35Preparation
  31. Chapter 36The Little Ones in Bulika
  32. Chapter 37Mother and Daughter
  33. Chapter 38The Shadow
  34. Chapter 39To the House of Bitterness
  35. Chapter 40That Night
  36. Chapter 41XL: The House of Death
  37. Chapter 42I Am Sent
  38. Chapter 43XLII: I Sleep the Sleep
  39. Chapter 44The Dreams That Came
  40. Chapter 45The Waking
  41. Chapter 46The Journey Home
  42. Chapter 47XLVI: The City
  43. Chapter 48XLVII: The 'Endless Ending'
  44. Chapter 49Endnotes