Part 1, Chapter 5 Summary

Mrs. Otis is in the Caribbean and is in the fifth week of a six-week exile, imposed by the members of her social set on new divorcees. The day is warm and sunny and a group of like-minded philistines has gathered at the home of Captain Sundstrom. They gossip, discussing weather, politics, and the market. Moving to a seat nearer the beach, Mrs. Otis is away from the larger group of partygoers. Mrs. Otis observes a group of aborigine children upon a horse while she is eavesdropping on the conversation of her peers. Mrs. Otis' thoughts are for the comparison of the rugged land and beautiful simplicity of the Caribbean natives' lives to the judgment and caustic ways of civilization. Using binoculars, the divorcee watches while the children entertain themselves, playing in the surf and with a horse that is obviously...