William and Cassandra’s Union is the turning point at which William Rodney and Cassandra Otway acknowledge their love and move toward a life together. The resolution comes through Katharine Hilbery’s candid recognition that Cassandra loves William and that her own relationship with William has been marked by jealousy rather than love. The scene does not erase the history among the three: instead, it gives that history a frank account, then asks them to accept its limits.

Background and the Recognition of Love

William has just asked Katharine to marry him, yet he remains uncertain about what he feels. When he asks what she feels for Ralph Denham, Katharine understands the question as a sign of jealousy, not proof that William loves her. She tells him that she is jealous of him too, and urges him to speak to Cassandra. This exchange makes the distinction between jealousy and love decisive: William’s unsettled attachment to Katharine gives way to a clearer recognition of his feelings for Cassandra.

Katharine supplies the crucial information directly: Cassandra loves William. The statement has immediate force. William’s excitement at the possibility of Cassandra’s love becomes certainty as he admits, “I love Cassandra.” Cassandra then appears from behind the curtains, having overheard the conversation. What had been an uncertain private hope is now an acknowledged feeling shared in the room, and William can ask Cassandra for her answer without the truth being withheld between them.

Cassandra’s Conditions and Katharine’s Release

Cassandra accepts what Katharine has told her, but she is not simply swept into a romantic resolution. She worries about whether the three of them are doing right, and insists, “I must be first with him, Katharine! I can't share him even with you.” Her demand makes clear that William’s earlier intimacy with Katharine remains emotionally significant; Cassandra needs assurance that their union will not require her to share his love.

Katharine answers that she will never ask Cassandra to share him. Cassandra recognizes that she and William understand one another, while she and Katharine have never understood one another in the same way. She also names the friction in William and Katharine’s former relationship: he wanted sympathy from Katharine, and practicality too, while each could be selfish or exacting without either being at fault. Katharine listens closely and agrees: “It was nobody's fault.” Her acceptance does not deny what failed between them; it removes blame as an obstacle to moving forward.

An Agreement About the Past

William asks both women not to discuss these matters again. He explains that revisiting them unsettles people’s minds and spoils what they have found, rather than presenting his wish as mere convention or timidity. Cassandra agrees, and Katharine confirms that she is happy and will keep the agreement. The moment establishes a boundary around the former relationship: its meaning has been spoken plainly, but the new couple will not make it a continuing test of their happiness.

Cassandra’s tears and open affection for Katharine give the ending a further dimension. She reaches out to her, even after insisting that she cannot share William. The scene therefore resolves the romantic triangle without reducing it to a contest: Cassandra claims a distinct place in William’s life, while Katharine’s generosity and understanding allow the old bond to be acknowledged without controlling the new one.

Significance

The union rests on direct speech, but it is not produced by confession alone. Katharine interprets William’s jealousy, identifies Cassandra’s love, and releases William from a proposal made amid uncertainty. William’s declaration then prompts Cassandra to answer, while her condition and Katharine’s reassurance clarify what the relationship will require. Each statement changes the practical and emotional position of the others.

The scene’s resolution is consequently both romantic and negotiated. William and Cassandra can come together because the former engagement is examined rather than disguised: Katharine and William did not understand one another, neither was solely to blame, and Cassandra will not accept a relationship in which she is asked to share William. Their agreement to leave the subject alone closes the discussion, not the significance of the past. It turns an entangled set of feelings into a new arrangement grounded in acknowledged love, limits, and generosity.