Chapter summary - 3 Flashcards
On the day before Dick is to return from Rome, Franz Gregorovius’s wife Kaethe talks to her husband, expressing her dislike for Nicole. She tells Franz, for example, Nicole treats her unfairly, “as if I smelt bad,” and Nicole doesn’t like for their children to play together. Franz tells her she must stop such talk, as Nicole’s money has funded the clinic.
A week later after Franz and Kaethe have the Divers over for dinner, Kaethe renews her attack. She tells Franz Dick has “been on a debauch” and rails against him as the lesser partner in the clinic—less responsible, less hardworking than Franz. Again, Franz silences her, but as the chapter ends, it is clear Kaethe has put a significant seed of doubt in his mind. Henceforth, Franz does not believe Dick is a serious person.
Book 3, Chapter 1
In May a despondent Dick enters Franz Gregorovius’s office. He has lost his most interesting patient, the American painter. When Franz comments on the fact he knows the woman had neurosyphilis, even though the tests came back negative, Dick gets angry. He wishes for the woman’s dignity to be intact along with her secrets.
Franz suggests Dick take the day off, and then he suggests he go to Lausanne for two or three days to see about a case that has been brought to his attention. Dick agrees and leaves the same day. When he arrives to interview the father of the patient, a Spanish noble named Señor Pardo y Cuidad Real, Dick feels more like himself.
Real is angry and distraught because his son, Francisco, is a homosexual and has also developed a dependence on alcohol. Homosexuality is not acceptable in his culture, and he has tried to rid his son of this “sickness” in horrid ways. He has had Francisco dosed with an aphrodisiac drug and taken to brothels to try to interest him in having sex with women. He has tried to beat the homosexuality out of him. Now he wants Dick and Franz to “cure” him.
Dick is appalled. He suggests they might be able to help Francisco with his alcohol problem but says he needs to talk to the young man to see if he will give “proper co-operation.”
When interviewed, Francisco admits he is terribly unhappy and the drinking stems from that. When he expresses self-pity and helplessness, however, Dick responds strongly. He says unless Francisco learns to control his sensuality and “the drinking that provokes it” he will remain unhappy his whole life. Dick has already decided not to take the case, but continues talking with the boy for an hour or so. As they talk, Royal Dumphry appears on the scene. He recognizes Dick right away and gushes about the dinner party at the Divers’ villa, calling it “the most civilized gathering of people that I have ever known.”
Dick shrinks from the conversation until Dumphry casually mentions he is sorry “he’s dying.” The he turns out to be Nicole’s father, who is being treated by Dumphry’s doctor. Right away, Dick reaches out to Dr. Dangeu and learns Devereux Warren is dying from liver failure due to alcoholism.
Later that night, after Real unsuccessfully begs Dick to “cure my only son,” Dr. Dangeu approaches Dick with the news Warren really wants to see Nicole before he dies. They agree Dick will talk to his father-in-law himself to decide whether or not it is advisable. So Dick goes to Warren’s suite in the hotel, where he is “gracefully weakening and sinking” toward death. After hearing what Warren has to say, Dick decides to call Franz and talk it over with him. However, Franz is not there and so Dick leaves a message with Kaethe about the urgency of his need to speak to her husband.
Dick fails to tell Kaethe Nicole must not be apprised of the situation, and although she surely knows better, Kaethe does let the news slip. Nicole immediately decides she is going to Lausanne, and Franz (who has just returned) is unable to stop her. Franz calls Dick, who at that moment is being visited by the nun caring for Warren, who announces the old man has left the hotel, taking his valet and all of his things.
Dick and Dr. Dangeu try to intercept Warren at the train station, but they are too late. Nicole arrives to learn the news her father is gone. Dick notices “a vast tragic apathy” flows from her. At the end of the chapter she bitterly complains, “I don’t see why you have to—come in contact with all this.” Dick’s reply has an element of sarcasm in it: “Oh, don’t you? Sometimes I don’t either.”
Book 3, Chapter 2
A week later back at the clinic in Zurich, Dick Diver is approached by an extremely irate man, who is the father of a patient. Mr. Morris is incensed because his son, who is in the clinic for alcoholism and for being a kleptomaniac, has told him he has smelled alcohol on Dick’s breath. So Mr. Morris has come to remove his son from the clinic.
Once the Morrises leave, Dick takes a hard look at his drinking. He calculates he is drinking a half-pint of alcohol each day, and makes a written plan to cut the amount in half. Franz arrives about a half hour later, and Dick tells him about the scene. But before revealing the real reason for it, Dick suggests Dr. Ladislau, another doctor at the clinic, mishandled things, and they should consider dismissing him.
Franz, however, grows quite serious at the news of the role alcohol has played. Within just a few minutes, he and Dick have agreed it is time for their partnership to end.
Franz has been looking for just such an opportunity since Kaethe first led him to question Dick’s seriousness as a doctor.
Book 3, Chapter 3
Freud on the phallus
Freud did not distinguish between the penis as an actual (anatomical) bodily organ and the phallus as a signifier of sexual difference.
Lacan on the paternal function
In his 1938 article on the family, he attributes the importance of the Oedipus complex to the fact that it combines in the figure of the father two almost conflicting functions: the protective function and the prohibitive function.
Villa Diana is rented out for the summer, so the Divers travel around Europe until they can return home. Dick’s focus is on their children, now 11 and nine years of age. Lanier has an immense curiosity about the world; Topsy is described by Dick as “exquisitely made like Nicole.”
Since Franz Gregorovius has bought the Divers’ share of the clinic, they are richer than ever and have become casual about spending money.
One of the trips the Divers make is to see Mary North, now the Contessa di Minghetti, married to a wealthy Asian named Hosain. The conte has two children of his own, and one of them has a skin disease, hard to cure. Dick and Nicole warn their children not to get too close to the boy.
On their second day at the Minghetti house, Lanier reports he has been made to bathe in the water the sick boy took a bath in. When Dick chides the woman he assumes is the Minghetti maid, he unknowingly commits a horrible faux pas. It seems this woman is the conte’s sister, and Dick should never have addressed her as a servant. Hosain is outraged and immediately leaves the house. Although Dick tries to apologize to Mary, he commits another social error when he tells her she has gotten boring and that’s why he did not listen closely to her descriptions of the household. Mary replies with bitterness, and the Divers depart immediately.
Book 3, Chapter 4
In April the Divers are living in Villa Diana again. On the day this chapter opens, Dick is firing their cook, Augustine, for drinking their expensive wine. She is belligerent and yells back at Dick about how much he drinks, wielding a knife in her anger. Nicole observes the scene and calls the police, who will not help, and convinces Dick to pay Augustine extra money in order to get her to calm down and leave.
That the Divers are unhappy in their marriage is apparent. Nicole says, “We can’t go on like this” and refers to Dick as “ruined.” She is scared of his outbursts of temper. When she asks him, “what do you get out of this?” he replies he is content to see her approaching a full recovery and feels their situation is much more complex than just the two of them.
Dick decides he and Nicole should go out to the yacht of a wealthy man named T.F. Golding, and despite Nicole’s misgivings, they do so. What relieves her stress is the sight of Tommy Barban on the yacht. She has not seen him for five years, and her adoration of him is immediately clear.
Tommy is in the company of Lady Sibly-Biers, whom he identifies as “the wickedest woman in London.” Nicole is unimpressed by her looks, although later she will admire the force of her formidable attitude. Golding approaches and confirms he has talked Dick into remaining with the boat party as they cruise to Cannes. Dick is already ordering their chauffeur to leave their car there.
As the party develops, Nicole notes Dick being drunk and obnoxious. She is disgusted by the way he humiliates himself. Later, having noticed his long absence from the main party, she goes in search of him. He is standing at the bow by himself. Although he is calm, his words are cruel. Tommy approaches them and tries to lighten things up, and Dick is docile the rest of the night. When they arrive in Cannes, Tommy drives their car back to Villa Diana; Dick passes out in the back seat.
Book 3, Chapter 5
The next morning Dick briefly apologizes to Nicole for his behavior but requests there be no more discussion about it. Then he has a somewhat harsh exchange with Tommy, which Nicole overhears. She realizes Tommy has always loved her and Dick has come to dislike him. She escapes into her garden, where she realizes she is seriously considering taking Tommy as a lover.
As Tommy leaves, Nicole tosses him some camphor rub for the cold he is developing, even though Dick tells her not to give it all to him. Dick is angry and withdraws from her.
After a week Nicole stops thinking about Tommy. But in June they get a telegram from him saying he is back in the area. At the same time, Rosemary sends a telegram stating she will be at Gausse’s the next day.
Book 3, Chapter 6
As the Divers go to the beach the next day to see Rosemary, Nicole’s musings focus on when and how the actual split-up of their marriage will occur. She is worried about the form it will take, but she is not concerned about the aftermath. She already knows she will land safely and is looking forward to the ease she will experience.
Nicole closely observes the reunion between Rosemary and Dick. She is not jealous. She feels a bit sorry for Dick as he falls back into the “old game of flattery” and realizes just how much he has faded into the background in the very place where he used to be the star.
When Dick says they are going to go on a speedboat with Rosemary and her friends, Nicole worries he will make a spectacle of himself. He is not nearly as strong as he once was, but she knows how much he likes to show off by doing physical stunts while being pulled behind a boat. Sure enough, Dick tries a particularly hard stunt involving lifting another man while riding a board and fails each time he tries it. He is extremely frustrated.
Dick’s ego is further bruised when, back on shore, Rosemary makes a comment about being relieved to see he is OK. Apparently, people are talking about how changed Dick is, and he sarcastically responds they are suggesting he is in “a process of deterioration.”
When Mary Minghetti approaches them on the beach—in order to talk to Rosemary—there is an uncomfortable scene. She disdains Dick, and it angers him, causing him to make a barbed comment. Rosemary is surprised by all of this, but then she recalls some of the gossip she has heard, that Dick is “a dissipated doctor” who is “not received anywhere any more.”
Nicole just wants to get away from Dick and abruptly announces she is taking the children home. As she drives away from the beach, she relaxes to find herself among trees, away from “the places where she had played planet to Dick’s sun.” She realizes she is healed and able to stand on her own. Yet, what she does is write a provocative note to Tommy as soon as she gets home.
Dick and Nicole manage to have a peaceful evening with the children, but they are “empty-hearted toward each other.” The next morning Dick leaves for a few days in Provence by himself. Tommy calls Nicole and says he is on his way.
Book 3, Chapter 7
Nicole prepares carefully for Tommy’s arrival and is pleased by the shape her body is in. She is excited “to be worshipped again” and is more than ready for a change. However, she is outraged by Tommy’s first words to her, that she has “white crook’s eyes.” Realizing soon she is overreacting, she lets it go.
Nicole and Tommy quip back and forth in a flirtatious way as they eat and drink wine. Nicole wastes no time falling completely under Tommy’s spell: “Everything Tommy said to her became part of her forever.”
Later that afternoon, they drive toward Monte Carlo, but Nicole declares she wants to stop, that it is too far to his hotel. So Tommy gets them a room just outside of Nice. After they make love, Nicole compares Tommy to Dick in her mind.
There is a lot of noise outside their room. An American military boat has allowed sailors to come to shore, and women are desperately trying to get the men’s attention as they return to the boat. Two women ask to come up to Tommy and Nicole’s room so they can wave at their men from the balcony; Tommy obliges them.
Nicole and Tommy proceed on to Monte Carlo and dine there, then continue their lovemaking. Nicole insists she must be home before dawn, so Tommy drives her back to Villa Diana. She is glad to be home, happy about the day but feeling the strain of so much excitement as well
Book 3, Chapter 8
Dick arrives home late the following afternoon. He admits part of his reason for taking the trip was to take Rosemary to her train in Avignon. He declares his interest in her is over, however, because she “didn’t grow up.” When he asks what Nicole has been doing, she acknowledges she has spent time with Tommy. Dick winces and asks she not give him any details.
Just then Tommy calls and tells Nicole he must see her in Cannes. When she declines and also will not say “I love you,” Tommy grows insistent. He tells her the marriage is over and Dick knows it, but Nicole only says she must talk to Dick and will then contact him again. Nicole alternates between feeling thrilled about her “achievement” with Tommy and regretting the loss of her love for Dick. She silently observes Dick for a while and tries to hug him, but he dismisses her roughly, saying “I can’t do anything for you any more. I’m trying to save myself.”
Within a few minutes, both Nicole and Dick make their decisions independently. Nicole decides to “cut the cord forever.” Dick declares to himself: “The case was finished. Doctor Diver was at liberty.”
Book 3, Chapter 9
At 2:00 in the morning the phone rings. Nicole wakes up, but Dick answers it. It is the police in Antibes calling; they have arrested Mary (North) Minghetti and Lady Sibly-Biers. Dick does not know what crime has been committed, but he is going to get Gausse’s help to get the two women out of jail. Only a property owner in the district can post bail.
It turns out the two women, very drunk, had engaged in an offensive stunt. They dressed as French sailors and picked up two young girls. The girls’ families are furious and demanding a settlement. Although Sibly-Biers is scornful about paying money to get out of the scrape, Minghetti is desperate her husband not find out.
In a manner bringing to mind Dick in his former glory days, he smooths the whole affair over. He exaggerates the importance of the two women as he convinces the chief of police that not releasing them could be disastrous for tourism. As he offers a handsome sum of money as well, the officer agrees.
Gausse is outraged when Sibly-Biers says she will not pay the money. He is the one who posted the bail. Again, Dick smooths it over, but Gausse’s disgust at such horrible behavior is palpable.
Book 3, Chapter 10
The next day Dick and Nicole do something they have always done together; they visit the barber to get haircuts and shampoos. However, this is far from their normal experience there. Tommy arrives, and Nicole feels a thrill that “there was going to be some sort of showdown.”
Tommy insists on talking to the couple together, and so they go to a café. He begins with, “Your wife does not love you … She loves me.” The exchange continues in a fairly typical way, but is interrupted as the Tour de France bicycle race enters the town. In the end Dick agrees to a divorce, but he does not give Nicole the satisfaction of saying he is as unhappy as she is.
Tommy declares himself the protector of Nicole from this point on. Dick replies sardonically, “I never did go in for making love to dry loins.” Despite Tommy’s multiple attempts to goad Dick into a fight, the split is achieved “with a minimum of drama.”
Book 3, Chapter 11
Dick spends his last full day at Villa Diana with his children. Saying goodbye to them is very painful. He leaves notes for Nicole and Baby Warren, and bids farewell to the servants. Then he decides to visit Gausse’s Beach one last time.
Later, Nicole and Baby and the children also go to the beach, and Nicole spies Dick sitting alone on a rock. She and Baby argue briefly about Dick’s goodness, with Nicole defending him as a good husband.
Dick moves up on the terrace above the beach, where he sits drinking anisette with Mary Minghetti. She remarks about how much like his old self he was on the night he rescued her and Sibly-Biers from jail. When she strongly suggests he stop drinking, however, he is angered. After a few more drinks, he calms down and resorts to his old methods of flattering women, telling Mary: “There has always been something between you and me.” However, a sort of insane laughter bubbles up inside of him, and the moment is lost.
As Dick stands to leave, blessing the beach with a hand, Nicole sees it. She tries to go to him, but Tommy firmly holds her back.
Book 3, Chapter 12
Dick goes to Buffalo and drifts around the area practicing medicine rather unsuccessfully. Reports of him do not make it seem like he is totally unhappy, but it seems clear he must keep moving because he gets into some trouble. In a few years he quits asking to have the children visit. Nicole loses touch with him. His last known location is a very small town in New York named Hornell.
Book 3, Chapter 13
