Summary

The year is 1907, and it is a warm summer night. This chapter follows Eugénie, the wife of Digby Partiger, and her two children, Sara and Maggie. Maggie and her mother attend a party, but Sara (sometimes known as "Sally") remains at home, under doctor's orders. The chapter opens with Eugénie, Digby, and Maggie riding in a cab through London towards the party; the sun is setting, and Maggie is lost in thought.

The scene shifts to Sara, who is lying sleeplessly in bed. She can hear another party from her bedroom, and the music echoes through her thoughts as she tries to read. First, she picks up a book of philosophy in which "the world is nothing but thought" (127); lying in bed, she tries to test if she really could just be composed of thoughts. She also begins to imagine romantic encounters...