Summary

In Part II, Chapter 6, growing up, Hendrik took piano lessons with a young tutor from the conservatory named Zwolle. Whenever he came to the house for lessons, Isabel noticed Hendrik stammering and blushing in Zwolle’s presence. One day after their lesson, Hendrik disappeared from the house. Isabel went out to find him and discovered him and Zwolle having sex in the woods. When Hendrik finally came home, Mother noticed a mark on his neck and ended his piano lessons thereafter. Over the following weeks and months, Hendrik withdrew from Mother. She insisted he needed to behave, but would not say explicitly what she met. Shortly after finishing school, Hendrik moved out for good, leaving Isabel alone with Mother. Uncle Karel helped Hendrik find an “apartment in Scheveningen” and let Mother know he was alright (87).

When Mother got sick, Hendrik came...