Chapter 34 Summary

It is twenty five years later and Newland Archer sits in his library. He thinks about how his life has gone, and how many things have changed. After May told him she was pregnant, he abandoned any thought of leaving her for Ellen. They raised three children; Dallas, who favored art and design and was very close to his father, Mary who was athletic and so much like May, and Bill who had caught pneumonia at a young age. Bill had recovered, but May had died nursing him back to health nearly two years before.

Archer tried his hand at politics, spending a year in the State Assembly, but was mostly known for being a good citizen. He was someone whose opinion was highly regarded and sought after.

Just then, he receives a call from Dallas in Chicago. The architect firm that he...