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Dirk Stroeve
Blanche Stroeve is a tall Englishwoman who, though not beautiful, has an attractive and statuesque figure. She once worked as a nurse. Later, while working as a governess for an aristocratic Italian family, she was seduced and impregnated by the family’s heir. When the family discovered the relationship, they threw her out in the street. Blanche was “rescued” through marriage to kindly but ridiculous Dutch painter Dirk Stroeve, who adores her. Later, the pair moves to Paris, where they meet English painter Charles Strickland. Blanche professes to loathe Strickland for his rudeness to her husband, and when Stroeve asks whether they can take a sick Strickland into their home to nurse him, Blanche initially refuses, saying that she hates Strickland and senses that something terrible will happen if he lives with them. Yet after Stroeve wears her down, she agrees to nurse Strickland. Her initial antipathy to Strickland may have masked a strong sexual attraction, as during Strickland’s convalescence in her home, she falls in love with and begins an affair with him. When Stroeve asks Strickland to leave the apartment after Strickland has recovered, Blanche abruptly announces that she’s leaving with him. During her affair with Strickland, he paints a masterful nude of her—after which he decides he is finished with her. Blanche attempts suicide by drinking oxalic acid, and she eventually dies after a week-long hospitalization.
Blanche Stroeve Quotes in The Moon and Sixpence
The The Moon and Sixpence quotes below are all either spoken by Blanche Stroeve or refer to Blanche Stroeve . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapters 1–16 Quotes
Her black dress, simple to austerity, suggested her bereaved condition, and I was innocently astonished that notwithstanding a real emotion she was able to dress the part she had to play according to her notions of seemliness.
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The second time that the narrator sees Mrs. Strickland after her husband Charles Strickland has abruptly abandoned her and their children, she is wearing a “black dress.” The narrator describes himself as “innocently astonished” that Mrs. Strickland would wear a dress that indicates she is “bereaved,” (in mourning). His astonishment suggests that, in his view, anyone feeling “real emotion” should be unable to consider “notions of seemliness,” meaning social decorum. This view subtly reveals the narrator’s prejudices both about self-expression and about women. First, the narrator is prejudiced against any form of self-expression that strikes him as conventional. Wearing black Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique pra
Chapters 17–42 Quotes
“Beauty is something wonderful and strange that the artist fashions out of the chaos of the world in the torment of his soul. And when he has made it, it is not given to all to know it. To recognize it you must repeat the adventure of the artist.”
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Dirk Stroeve is talking with his wife Blanche about Charles Strickland’s art. When Blanche criticizes Strickland’s art, Stroeve animatedly defends it, arguing that real artistic beauty need not be self-evident or immediately accessible: it derives from “the torment of [the artist’s] soul,” and the audience “must repeat the adventure of the artist” to see his art’s individual beauty. On one level, this quotation simply reinforces an idea, put forward throughout the novel, that great art must be the authentic expression of the artist’s individual personality or “soul.” Yet on another level, the quotation indirectly suggests what the narrator is doing Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ip
Their life in its own way was an idyll, and it managed to achieve a singular beauty.
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Here the narrator reflects on Blanche and Stroeve’s married life in Paris. When the narrator calls their life together an “idyll,” he implicitly compares it to art: the word “idyll” can refer both to literary descriptions of pastoral scenes and to narrative poems dealing with romantic themes. Yet an “idyll” can also refer to a tragic poem or to a brief episode of romantic peace sandwiched within a less peaceful narrative. As such, the use of the word “idyll” subtly foreshadows that the Stroeves’ peaceful romance will end: Strickland will break up the Stroeves’ marriage and Blanche will subsequently die Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi a
[T]here was in his face an outrageous sensuality; but, though it sounds nonsense, it seemed as though his sensuality were curiously spiritual.
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While Strickland is convalescing at Dirk and Blanche Stroeve’s apartment after a serious illness, the narrator contemplates Strickland’s face, the features of which have been rendered even more apparent by sickly thinness. The narrator sees in Strickland “outrageous sensuality.” As “sensuality” refers to a tendency toward bodily indulgence, readers are reminded of the narrator’s speculation that Strickland engages in occasional debauches with grotesque women to satisfy his sexual appetites. This speculation foreshadows that Strickland will act on his sexual desire for Blanche while under the Stroeves’ roof, wrecking their marriage. Yet at the same time, the narrator sees something “spiritual” Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque
Blanche Stroeve was in the cruel grip of appetite. Perhaps she hated Strickland still, but she hungered for him, and everything that had made up her life till then became of no account. She ceased to be a woman, complex, kind, and petulant, considerate and thoughtless; she was a Maenad.
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The narrator has just learned from Dirk Stroeve that Stroeve’s wife Blanche has left him for Strickland, a man Blanche claimed to hate. The narrator proceeds to speculate about Blanche’s reasons for leaving Stroeve. As the narrator has not witnessed most of Blanche’s interactions with either man, his speculations seem to reveal more about him than about Blanche. Specifically, they further illustrate the narrator’s suspicious and frightened view of sexuality. The narrator seems to view sexual desire not as a natural and positive complement to love but as a horrific external force that overtakes people against their will. He describes Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad te
“Women are constantly trying to commit suicide for love, but generally they take care not to succeed. It’s generally a gesture to arouse pity or terror in their lover.”
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After Blanche Stroeve leaves her husband Dirk Stroeve for Strickland, Strickland grows tired of her and abandons her. In despair, she attempts suicide by drinking oxalic acid. When the narrator and a frantic Stroeve try to visit her at the hospital, a male doctor attempts to reassure them by telling them that though “women are constantly trying to commit suicide for love,” they nevertheless “take care not to succeed,” because they simply want to “arouse pity or terror in their lover” rather than to die. The doctor’s cynical view that women who attempt suicide are only trying to manipulate or Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. D
Strickland had burst the bonds that hitherto had held him. […] It was not only the bold simplification of the drawing which showed so rich and so singular a personality; it was not only the painting, though the flesh was painted with a passionate sensuality which had in it something miraculous; it was not only the solidity, so that you felt extraordinarily the weight of the body; there was also a spirituality, troubling and new[.]
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The narrator is paraphrasing how Dirk Stroeve described to him the nude portrait that Strickland painted of Blanche during their extramarital affair. Stroeve describes the painting in terms of its “personality,” “sensuality,” “solidity,” and “spirituality.” Together, these terms indicate that the nude portrait represents a breakthrough for Strickland in sublimating his sexuality into his artistic work. First, the narrator says that “Strickland had burst the bonds that held him.” As the narrator tends to describe sexual desire in terms of violent constraint on the individual personality, this phrase suggests that Strickland broke the “bonds,” the chains,” of his sexual desire Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad ten
It may be that in rogues the writer gratifies instincts deep-rooted in him, which the manners and customs of a civilized world have forced back to the mysterious recesses of the subconscious. In giving to the character of his invention flesh and bones he is giving life to that part of himself which finds no other means of expression. His satisfaction is a sense of liberation.
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The narrator is contemplating his own continued interest in Strickland after Strickland has seduced Dirk Stroeve’s wife Blanche, breaking up their marriage, and then abandoned her, precipitating her suicide. He concludes that his interest is due to writerly curiosity about “rogues.” He goes on to speculate that a writer uses rogues—immoral characters—to indulge “that part of himself which finds no other means of expression” in “a civilized world” that represses immoral individual “instincts.” The narrator, in talking about “the writer,” is in fact talking about himself. This passage hints that the narrator is interested in Strickland’s antisocial behaviors—his total devotion Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollit
“She had a wonderful body, and I wanted to paint a nude. When I’d finished my picture I took no more interest in her.”
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The narrator has been questioning Strickland about his decision to conduct an affair with Blanche Stroeve despite Strickland’s general disdain for romance and women. At first Strickland angrily admits that he sexually desired Blanche—but then he provides a different explanation: “She had a wonderful body, and I wanted to paint a nude.” Since the novel has previously represented sexual desire and artistic vision as opposed, this statement suggests that Strickland had dual, competing motivations for his affair with Blanche: he was struggling between his sexual and artistic responses to Blanche’s “wonderful body.” His callous claim that he “took no more Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi
Chapters 43–58 Quotes
Here lies the unreality of fiction. For in men, as a rule, love is but an episode which takes its place among the other affairs of the day, and the emphasis laid on it in novels gives it an importance which is untrue to life […] As lovers, the difference between men and women is that women can love all day long, but men only at times.
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The narrator, reflecting on what he has written about Strickland so far, is dissatisfied with how much space he has given to Strickland’s relationships with Mrs. Strickland and Blanche Stroeve, neither of whom mattered much to Strickland. He goes on to suggest that giving too much “importance” to romance in fiction gives it a certain “unreality” because men simply don’t place romance so high on their list of priorities—though women do. In the context of the novel overall, this passage has two functions. First, the passage fleshes out the narrator’s theory of his own art. Second, it illustrates the narrator’s Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid iste enim. Sequi aut maxime. Adipisci voluptate et. Voluptas suscipit alias. In et eveniet. Eaque et repellendus. Dolores aut voluptatibus. Voluptatem qui voluptatum. Voluptatibus sed placeat. Aut tenetur autem. Fugit voluptates in. Qu
I suppose that art is a manifestation of the sexual instinct […]. It is possible that Strickland hated the normal release of sex because it seemed to him brutal by comparison with the satisfaction of artistic creation.
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Here, the narrator, looking back on what he has so far written about Charles Strickland, theorizes that “art is a manifestation of the sexual instinct.” The narrator has already clearly implied this theory in his account of Strickland’s relationship with Blanche Stroeve, which he represents first as Strickland’s temporary surrender to sexual desire and then his successful exorcism of sexual desire by sublimating it into artistic creation (the nude portrait of Blanche). If the narrator is correct about Strickland “hat[ing] the normal release of sex,” it may further illuminate the motives behind Strickland’s abandonment of Mrs. Strickland: he did not Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. A
“She leaves me alone […]. She cooks my food and looks after her babies. She does what I tell her. She gives me what I want from a woman.”
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Captain René Brunot, a French sailor living in the South Seas, is quoting to the narrator what Strickland told him when Brunot asked Strickland whether he was happy with his young Tahitian wife Ata. Strickland replies that Ata provides what he “want[s] from a woman.” Since Strickland’s prior two relationships—with his first wife Mrs. Strickland and with his short-term lover Blanche Stroeve—both ended when Strickland abandoned his female partner, his commentary here suggests that the relationships ended either because the woman didn’t leave him “alone” or didn’t obey him. As the novel tends to valorize Strickland despite his cruelty and Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perfe
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Blanche Stroeve Character Timeline in The Moon and Sixpence
The timeline below shows where the character Blanche Stroeve appears in The Moon and Sixpence. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapters 17–42
...19. When the narrator visits Stroeve’s studio, Stroeve greets him joyously and introduces him to Mrs. Stroeve , a woman with a statuesque body. Mrs. Stroeve is affectionate toward Stroeve, but the...
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When the narrator asks whether Stroeve knows Strickland, Mrs. Stroeve says, “Beast.” Stroeve explains that he once asked Strickland to come see his paintings. Strickland...
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...He offers to take the narrator to meet Strickland at a café Strickland frequents. When Mrs. Stroeve caustically comments that some Dutch buyers thought Stroeve was joking when he showed them Strickland’s...
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...with other authors and with his friends, particularly Stroeve and Mrs. Stroeve, whose name is Blanche. The narrator senses that Blanche is hiding something, yet she and Stroeve get on well;...
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...Paris at that time are of the Stroeves’ household: Stroeve’s real passion for his wife (Blanche) and their domestic harmony, which has “a singular beauty” that Stroeve’s buffoonery only makes somehow...
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...25. After tending to Strickland, Stroeve and the narrator go back to Stroeve’s. Stroeve asks Blanche whether they can nurse Strickland at their place. Blanche refuses, claiming to hate Strickland and...
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...26. The narrator and Stroeve move Strickland to Stroeve’s. Though Strickland is ungrateful, Stroeve and Blanche nurse him assiduously. When the narrator asks Blanche whether she talks to Strickland and whether...
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...28. A week later, Stroeve visits the narrator at his apartment and announces, crying, that Blanche has left him because she loves Strickland. The narrator, disbelieving, asks for the whole story....
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...29. When the narrator is disgusted by Stroeve’s “weakness,” Stroeve explains that he couldn’t let Blanche live the way Strickland lives—he still loves her and will take her back if her...
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When the narrator asks whether Stroeve suspected Strickland and Blanche’s affair, Stroeve says he knew before Blanche did—he was aware she didn’t reciprocate his passion...
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Chapter 30. The narrator, unable to sleep, ponders Blanche. He concludes that she never loved Stroeve, only passively responded to his passion and protection,...
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While the narrator acknowledges that his speculations about Blanche may be wrong, he can at least come up with explanations for her behavior. Yet...
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Chapter 31. The next day, Stroeve goes to fetch his things from the studio. Blanche has given Stroeve’s things to the porter and is herself absent. A few days later,...
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...doesn’t see him for a few weeks. Then, one day, he runs into Strickland and Blanche on the street. The narrator is cold to them—so Strickland perversely insists on talking to...
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...later, Stroeve, who heard from an acquaintance that the narrator was at a café with Blanche, visits the narrator and asks to hear about his wife. When the narrator says he...
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...herself.” After the narrator shakes him and makes him drink some water, Stroeve explains that Blanche and Strickland had a fight, he left her, and she drank oxalic acid—she’s actually not...
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...The narrator makes Stroeve stay at his apartment. The next time they visit the hospital, Blanche refuses to see either of them. Stroeve asks the nurse to tell Blanche that if...
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Chapter 36. Over the next week, it becomes clear that Blanche won’t survive. One evening, Stroeve arrives at the narrator’s looking depleted, and the narrator knows...
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Chapter 37. The narrator attends Blanche’s funeral with Stroeve. Afterward, he feels “bored with a tragedy that did not really concern”...
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...mourning look goofy. Stroeve announces that he’s going home to Holland—the mockery of others and Blanche’s infidelity have weighed him down too much. He tells the narrator about how his carpenter...
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Chapter 39. Stroeve tells the narrator how he went to the studio after Blanche’s funeral. From the police, Stroeve knew that Strickland had left Blanche right after dinner—yet he...
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...When the narrator is shocked into silence, Stroeve says that he and Strickland both loved Blanche—and Holland’s simplicity might be good for Strickland. Strickland refused but gave Stroeve the nude of...
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...curiosity” about him. The narrator states that he heard Strickland gave Stroeve the nude of Blanche. In response to further questioning, Strickland says he only gave the painting to Stroeve because...
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When the narrator asks why Strickland would destroy Stroeve and Blanche’s life, Strickland says that Blanche would never have forgiven Stroeve, regardless: while working as a...
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The narrator asks why Strickland even “bothered with” Blanche. Furiously, Strickland admits that he desired her—but then, retreating to humor, explains how she was...
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When the narrator retorts that Blanche loved Strickland, Strickland angrily rants that love is “weakness” and women are just “instruments of...
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When the narrator calls Strickland inhumane, Strickland asks whether the narrator actually cares that Blanche died. After a pause, the narrator says he’s “ashamed” that he himself doesn’t care about...
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The narrator reflects unhappily that Stroeve and Blanche’s tragedy does seem “useless”—Stroeve will get over it, and Blanche might as well never have...
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...Aloud, he tells Strickland that he understands now why Strickland “surrendered” to his lust for Blanche—he had a momentary lapse in bravery in his quest for some ideal, and he sought...
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Chapters 43–58
...by describing his difficulties. The narrator knows nothing about the three months Strickland cohabited with Blanche, though he imagines a desperate Blanche trying to “ensnare” an indifferent Strickland with material “comfort.”...
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