Chapter 12 Summary

The conversation about family history launches the second phase of Christmas' relationship with Miss Burden. Christmas continues to work at the factory by day, but now he takes his meals alone in Miss Burden's kitchen. At night, they meet in her bedroom. She speaks to him about her day, but he considers the details of her life trivial, and assumes she thinks of him as infrequently during the day as he thinks of her. At night, they regularly engage in sexual relations, which Christmas likens to falling into a sewer. As if making up for lost time, the forty-something spinster enjoys talking dirty. Christmas notices that she is falling in love with him, and she begins to throw fits of jealous rage, although she never obtains proof of the other women he is indeed betraying her with. She tests his love by insisting...