Summary

Chapter 39 begins as Margaret visits Estelle in Queens, relieved when Estelle happily greets her. As she watches Estelle feed the baby, Ruth feels proud of Estelle's progress but does notice that she seems more like a nervous babysitter than a mother. Estelle's husband Larry arrives and escorts Ruth to another room while Estelle finishes dinner. However, while Larry says he adores Estelle, he worries about her with the boys because Estelle occasionally slips into spells of violent madness. Three blocks away, Ruth breaks down, realizing that she and Robert's life work is a failure.

Chapter 40 opens as Ruth paces the dining room wondering when she and Robert stopped eating together. She wonders how she could have been so blind, especially when other doctors warned that the lobotomy was being performed indiscriminately. Furthermore, the procedure's success was only considering the improvement...