Chapters 55-57 Summary

Six month after returning to Lavilledieu, Hervé Joncour receives in the mail a letter. It consists of seven sheets covered in Japanese ideograms. The postage suggests that the letter came from the town of Ostend (in Belgium). The ideograms remind him of the tracks of bird feet.

Joncour keeps the letter on his person day and night. One night, his wife Hélène enters a room where he sits examining the letter. She kisses him and her nightdress gaps, revealing that she is wearing nothing underneath. Five days later, he sets out to visit the French town of Nimes for the day. His destination is the brothel of Madame Blanche, the Japanese draper who translated his note. The reception room is unchanged, although the piano player seems withdrawn compared to Joncour's visit three years prior.

Chapters 55-57 Analysis

The mysterious...