Part 3, Chapter 21 Summary and Analysis

"Emily" focuses on the Chief Engineer's wife and reveals her as a major force in getting the Great Bridge finished during times of intense political infighting. Emily Warren grows up in the maritime atmosphere of the upper Hudson Valley at Cold Spring near West Point. As an adult, she looks out her window to see the Hudson empty into the bay. One hundred ten Columbia Heights is half a mile from the Bridge. Neighbors include Moses Beech, Henry Bowen, and Beecher in the next block. Nothing like her reclusive husband, Emily keeps his life tranquil and runs his errands. She is 35, married 14 years, half of that time tending an invalid. Their son is an adolescent, and a fall during the pregnancy has left her unable to bear others. The trip home from Germany had been agonizing, but since she...