Cecil Beaumont, a young master who suffered from an ancestral curse, got rid of the blood-soluble curse with the help of Elizabeth Carlyle, a tutor who was born into a down-and-out aristocrat. He pursued the social ideals of freedom and equality, and eventually died in the dark age, like a snowdrop withering at dusk.
Purpose: The pursuit of freedom and equality is destined to be fruitless with top-down aristocratic mercy.