Summary: Chapter XXXVIII
By fall, Henry and Catherine have moved to a wooden house
on a mountain outside the village of Montreux. They pass a splendid
life together, enjoying the company of Mr. Guttingen and his wife,
who live downstairs, and taking frequent walks into the peaceful
nearby villages. One day, after Catherine has her hair done in town,
the couple goes out for a beer, which Catherine believes will help
keep the baby small. Catherine has been increasingly worried about
the baby’s size, since the doctor has warned her that she has a
narrow pelvis. Again, Henry and Catherine discuss marriage. Catherine agrees
to marry someday because it will make the child “legitimate,” but
she prefers to talk about the sights that she hopes to see, such
as Niagara Falls and the Golden Gate Bridge, when the marriage makes
her an American.
Three days before Christmas, snow falls. Catherine asks
Henry if he feels restless. He says no, though he does wonder about
Rinaldi, the priest, and the men on the front. Catherine, suspecting
that Henry might be restless, suggests that he change something
to reinvigorate his life. He agrees to grow a beard. Catherine suggests
that she cut her hair to make her look more like Henry, but Henry doesn’t
like this idea. When she proposes that they try to fall asleep together
at the same time, Henry is unable to and lies awake looking at Catherine
and thinking for a long time.
Summary: Chapter XXXIX
By mid-January, Henry’s beard has come in fully. While
out on a walk, he and Catherine stop at a dark, smoky inn. They
relish their isolation and wonder if things will be spoiled when
the “little brat” comes. Catherine says that she will cut her hair
when she is thin again after the baby is born so that she can be
“exciting” and Henry can fall in love with her all over again. He
tells her that he loves her enough now and asks, “What do you want
to do? Ruin me?”
Summary: Chapter XL
In March, the couple moves to the town of Lausanne to
be nearer to the hospital. They stay in a hotel there for three
weeks. Catherine buys baby clothes, Henry exercises in the gym,
and both feel that the baby will come soon and that therefore they
should not lose any time together.
Summary: Chapter XLI
Around three o’clock one morning, Catherine goes into
labor. Henry takes her to the hospital, where she is given a nightgown
and a room. She encourages Henry to go out for breakfast, which
he does. When he returns to the hospital, he finds that Catherine
has been taken to the delivery room. He goes in to see her; the
doctor stands by as Catherine inhales an anesthetic gas to get her
through the painful contractions. Later that afternoon, when Henry
returns from lunch, Catherine has become intoxicated from the gas
and has made little progress in her labor. The doctor tells Henry
that the best solution would be a Caesarean operation. Catherine
suffers unbearable pain and pleads for more gas. Finally, they wheel
her out on a stretcher to perform the operation. Henry watches the
rain outside.
The doctor soon comes out with a baby boy, for
whom Henry, strangely, has no feelings. Henry sees the doctor fussing
over the child, but he rushes off to see Catherine without speaking
to him. When Catherine asks about their son, Henry tells her that
he is fine. The nurse gives him a quizzical look; ushering him outside,
the nurse explains that the umbilical cord had strangled the child
prior to birth.
