Chapters 17-18 Summary

Hervé Joncour returbs home three months later. He brings his wife Hélène a tunic made of silk. The eggs he purchased turn out such a high quality and quantity of silk that two more mills open in the village of Lavilledieu. Baldabiou adds on to the chapel of Saint Agnes. Joncour purchases thirty acres of land and spends the summer designing gardens for it. He passes his time at the Café Verdun and listening to Hélène read aloud.

Chapters 17-18 Analysis

Joncour's wife's refusal to wear the silk tunic that he brought to her and Joncour's comment to Baldabiou about how the end of the world is invisible are examples of how Joncour has compartmentalized his experience in Japan. The tunic is of such a fine cloth that it is like being woven out of nothing at...