In 1813, Archie Weir, the son of the presiding judge, Lord Hermiston, witnesses the trial and execution of Duncan Jopp, a man accused of heinous crimes, and is deeply disturbed by it. The trial exemplifies both the harshness of justice and the moral indifference of the era towards capital punishment. Archie, horrified by the cruelty and glee with which his father, Lord Hermiston, administers justice, publicly denounces the hanging as a “God-defying murder,” causing scandal.

Following this outburst, Archie and his father have a tense confrontation in which stark differences in their worldviews are laid bare. Lord Hermiston chastises Archie for his naivety and disapproval of capital punishment, while Archie accuses his father of taking pleasure in the act of sentencing men to death. Throughout the exchange, Archie seeks to justify his outburst and aspirations for a life different from the one his father envisions for him, proposing to join the military rather than continue in law or enter the pulpit, which his father scornfully rejects.

The argument ends with a deeper chasm between father and son. Despite Lord Hermiston’s harsh rebuke and the threat of disinheritance, Archie remains resolute in his moral opposition to his father’s actions. Hermiston, resigned to the disappointment his son represents, alludes to the constraints of duty both to family and to the position he holds, revealing a complex character torn between personal and public obligations.

This chapter showcases the conflict between generational values, the weight of familial expectations, and the personal struggle for identity and moral integrity within the strictures of society and justice. Hermiston’s stern disposition and Archie’s idealistic inclinations set the stage for a continuing battle of wills, highlighting the theme of justice versus mercy that runs throughout “Weir of Hermiston.”