Part 1 Section 1 Summary

The narrator introduces herself as the granddaughter of Tessie—whom she remembers quite well—and Douglas—whom she hardly remembers at all. While they had lived in India, neither Tessie nor her sister Beth would speak of Olivia, Douglas' first wife. In time both women had returned to England and been widowed. It was then, after they were all quite old, that Harry, who had been in touch with Marcia, gave them Olivia's letters. That is how the narrator came to have them. She had brought them with her to India and kept a journal to record her impressions.

Part 1 Section 1 Analysis

The narrator introduces herself and tells the reader this is not her story, but Olivia's. It was not a story Tessie and her sister spoke of they until after they had left India. The narrator is...