Part 2: Chapter 5 Summary

Cecelia Pike attends the Fourth of July carnival with her husband just a day after she attempted to kill herself by slitting her wrists. Spencer Pike carefully covers the wounds with bandages and forces Cecelia to wear a long sleeve shirt despite the heat. At the carnival, Cecelia and Spencer meet up with Cecelia's father, Harry Beaumont. Both Spencer and Harry are professors at the University of Vermont where they teach undergraduates. They also work on the eugenics project to sterilize unwanted members of families whose offspring include feebleminded persons as well as the sexually immoral. As Cecelia listens to her father and husband talk, she finds herself looking around the grounds. Cecelia becomes aware of someone watching her. It is a dark man she has never seen before. Spencer pulls her away.

Cecelia sneaks away from Spencer and visits a...