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This chapter-by-chapter summary contains plot spoilers!
Navigate the Summary Parts: Go to the beginning Blue Notebook (Anna's diary) (Brought to you by kat impatientreader.com) Anna explains the black line as expressing her unwillingness to write about sex. She details how she has an affair with Nelson (who is married) and how she likes him at first because he's nice to her daughter Janet. But then he confesses to her that he fought in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Communists against Franco. Her heart sinks as he rants on about his war experience, and she realizes that he's using his own hysteria to insulate himself from feeling actual guilt over helping the Communists now that he knows about Stalin's mass murder of the Jews. Over a period of weeks Nelson vacillates back and forth between being a nice guy and a neurotic wreck. He invites her to a party attended by several other Americans at his flat; she's the only English person present. They are all nice to her. Nelson and his wife seethe with hysteria, self-hatred, reciprocal hatred, and anxiety. Everyone at the party tries to pretend that Nelson's marriage isn't cracking up; they all cover for him and his wife, and there is heavy pressure for Anna, obviously Nelson's mistress, to do the same. Anna even dances with Nelson to keep the peace. Then she goes home, knowing that Nelson and his wife will never leave each other. Nelson telephones Anna after this and gets hysterical and insulting. Then he calls back and asks obliviously if he hurt her with the previous conversation. Anna starts having the joy-in-destruction nightmare with the spiteful energy embodied in Nelson. Anna draws another heavy black line across the page. Then she describes De Silva from Ceylon whom Anna met years ago at Molly's house. De Silva had come to London, married an Englishwoman, had a kid, and started a half-hearted career as a journalist. He impressed people at Molly's parties as being witty, sarcastic, cruel, and cool. Unable to earn a living in England, he talked his wife into returning to Ceylon with him where his snobbish family refused to acknowledge the wife. De Silva installed her and the kid in a miserable little apartment and divided his time between them and his Ceylon family. He got his wife to have another kid, and then abandoned wife and children. De Silva comes into Anna's life when he pops up in London again, looking to borrow money from Molly. This is back when Anna was sharing Molly's house and Molly was taking her one-year trip around the world. Anna feels sorry for him and asks him to dinner at Molly's house. De Silva shows up, eats, and insists on telling Anna creepy stories about women he's slept with. She's repelled but goes ahead and sleeps with him for some reason. The next morning Anna feels as if he's sucked all the life out of her. She goes ahead and makes him breakfast, and then tells him they will never be lovers again but that they can remain friends. He seems furious, but then calms down and leaves. Later on he calls Anna and says that he wants her to take over her daughter Janet's room for one night so that Anna can hear him in there having sex with a prostitute. Anna hangs up on him. She starts having the joy-in-destruction nightmare with the spiteful energy embodied in De Silva. Molly returns home and tells Anna that De Silva obviously had a second child with his wife in order to imprison her in Ceylon while he skipped back to England. |
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