PART TWO, Chapter 5

Summary

The scandal of Guillaume’s death overtakes Paris. Giovanni, being a foreigner, becomes the perfect suspect for the crime. The media portrays Giovanni as a depraved outsider, while Guillaume is made to look like the perfect, respectable Parisian. David complains to Hella that Giovanni is being vilified and that Guillaume was actually a vile person. David remembers seeing the picture of Giovanni after he had finally been caught and how he thought about what happened to Giovanni during the week that he was on the run.

David imagines the scene of Guillaume’s death and the encounter between Guillaume and Giovanni that eventually led to Giovanni killing Guillaume. In David’s imagining of the event, Giovanni would be at Guillaume’s bar, Guillaume inviting Giovanni for a drink—and as one thing led to another, Guillaume would tell Giovanni to undress. Giovanni not wanting to succumb so low would decline and Guillaume’s death would ensue as a result of Giovanni’s rejection. 

As Giovanni awaits his trial and verdict, David and Hella have already moved to the south of France. Though David tries to do his best by Hella, he is unable to get Giovanni out of his mind. His secret fixation with Giovanni’s fate leads to a tear in his relationship with Hella. Hella in turn begins to suspect that there is something wrong with David. His inability and refusal to disclose to Hella furthers the rift between them. Eventually, David admits that he feels guilty about leaving Giovanni, saying that if he had not left, Giovanni might not be on death row. Hella begs David to leave France, to move back to America, where they can get married and have a life together, and that there is nothing he can do for Giovanni now.

One night, David leaves Hella and travels to Nice where he meets a sailor. After spending a couple of nights with him, David is startled to find Hella standing behind him at a bar. By this point she has realized that David has homosexual tendencies, even though David tries his best to tell her otherwise. Hella feels foolish and tells David that she should have known better and hoped that David actually wanted to be with her. David fails to convince her to stay and the two have a drink before she leaves him entirely and returns to the United States. 

Back in the present, David watches as the sun approaches the horizon. He has cleaned the house and packed his bag. The only thing left to do is to get on a bus and begin his journey home to the United States. Thoughts of his journey make him think about Giovanni. As David undresses in front of a mirror, he wonders if Giovanni’s execution has already occurred, and he wonders about Giovanni’s last moments on Earth and Giovanni’s last words. David wishes to say he is sorry. 

The realization finally occurs to David that everything that has happened to him—and between him and Giovanni—has been a great lesson, one that will bring him salvation and redemption if he is able to accept it. As David waits for the morning bus, he tears apart a blue envelope Jacques had sent with a note informing David of the date of Giovanni’s execution. The wind carries away the pieces, but as David walks away the wind carries some of the pieces back toward him.