Chapters 13-17 Summary

Effi is admired at the New Year's Eve Ball but then hibernates for the long winter. When forced to socialize, she rues church politics, recalling Niemeyer's restraint and modesty. She cannot abide Sidonie and looks on Gieshübler as her personal "providence." Effi mentions him so often in letters that Mamma kids her about being "in love with an alchemist," making Mamma think that Innstetten is no lover. Effi and Rollo spend their evenings alone together, and sometimes she plays the piano for her husband. She looks forward to the crowds of summer and almost misses the ghost when Innstetten visits Bismarck.

In April, the district commandant is replaced, but it brings no social relief, for Frau Crampas is melancholy and suspicious of her husband. Without his wife, Major Crampas can be animated and suave. Effi decides to take a walk...