Summary

In Chapter 11, a wedding announcement from the society pages of a Wichita newspaper details the beauty of Cora and Alan’s 1903 wedding. The narrator notes how Cora was grateful for this write up, which failed to mention when one of Alan’s friends, Raymond, started a drunken toast in which he called Alan marrying Cora an act of “charity” before being dragged away (132).

The narrator recalls Mrs. Lindquist giving Cora instruction about how to perform sex on her wedding night. Cora is excited at the possibility of having control in a relationship where she feels she owes all to Alan. Still, when having sex with him, Cora is confused and unsure of how she should react. She wonders if she should express the emotion she feels.

After getting pregnant, Cora wakes up one morning sure she is ready to give birth. She feels...