Chapters 25 - 29 Summary

Chapter 25: The state of the soul of a married woman is the topic at the beginning of this chapter. Diotima had established a salon, which meant a special social arena. She is moving into a new stage of life. The author explains that she is transforming into the mature woman; this is a figure who comes across as somehow more masculine, but this is in a good sense. Such women are viewed as having becoming increasingly independent of their husbands or of a man in general but also less tolerant of their husbands. Her husband is Permanent Secretary Tuzzi: this man is the highest-ranking commoner in all the land. The reality of the aristocracy makes the whole conception of "commoners" as being more accessible and palpable than it is in lands where there is no such thing as an aristocracy of...