Summary

In Chapter 8, Eileen emails Alice. She questions her decision to travel. She does not think it is healthy for her to return to "the publishing world" so soon (80). Now that she is writing, she feels upset. She feels depressed about her own life, and about the world. She considers politics again. She poses her "new theory" about "the instinct for beauty" (83). She then asks about Felix, wondering why Alice is being evasive. She says she will try to visit, and that she misses her.

In Chapter 9, Alex and Felix arrived in Rome. Over dinner, Alice talked about Eileen and Simon, and their friendships. When Alice told Felix that Simon was Catholic, he was shocked. Alice argued that everyone believed "silly things" (89). They talked more about faith, about relationships and love. Over the course of the trip, Alice and Felix spent intermittent time together...