Come My Soul, That Hath Long Languished, Chapters 1, 2 and 3 Summary

It is now April of 1966 and Maureen stares at her own image in a mirror just like her mother did at the beginning of the novel. Maureen has lost all the weight she gained during her year in the catatonic state. Maureen lives on her own now and is intent on luring her night school professor, Jim, away from his family so that she may marry him and have some security in her own life. Maureen is not sure she is capable of loving Jim, or any man, but is determined to do whatever she needs to in order to reach her goal of being taken care of.

The story shifts from Maureen's perspective to Jim's as he evaluates his life and his marriage to his wife...