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Summary
Part III: Peacehaven, November 1999
Section 2, from Last night, while you were sleeping, I stayed awake in the hope of being able to talk to Tom through Yours faithfully, A Friend
In 1999, Marion stays up late to talk to Tom. She urges him to talk to Patrick, saying that Patrick needs him. Tom wants nothing to do with nursing Patrick, saying he will never recover, and that Patrick needed him years ago. The scene shifts to 1958, when Julia convinces Marion that they should take their students on a field trip to Woodingdean. On the trip, Marion confides in Julia, telling her that Patrick joined her and Tom on their honeymoon. Julia asks Marion if Patrick is gay, a question that shocks and upsets Marion. After work, she tells Tom what Julia has said about Patrick. Tom denies the possibility, pointing out that Patrick has a good job, and insists she correct Julia. That night, Tom makes love to Marion fiercely, undressing her for the only time in their marriage.
Tom and Marion fall into a pattern of Tom spending Tuesday evenings and alternate Saturday afternoons with Patrick, and Patrick coming to dinner on Thursdays. Patrick suggests Marion bring her class to the museum for his first art appreciation event. Patrick is good with the children, especially Alice Rumbold, whose work he particularly praises. Marion is happy until Patrick thanks her for letting Tom come to Venice with him, as this is the first she has heard of the trip. At home, Marion breaks plates and ransacks Tom’s closet looking for evidence of a relationship with Patrick. When Tom arrives home, she cries, then confronts him about the trip. Tom accuses her of being too controlling, saying that if she wants the freedom to work, he should have the freedom to travel. Marion attempts to bring up Patrick’s sexuality, and Tom says she has a dirty mind.
In 1958, Marion is increasingly aware that Tom must have a romantic relationship with Patrick but chooses silence over confrontation. After school, Julia suggests they go out for a drink and invites Marion to join her at an event for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Tom is relieved that Marion has a friend, and Marion decides to let Tom see Patrick that Saturday while she goes to the event, even though he has promised to spend the Saturdays leading up the Venice trip with her. Marion enjoys the event and finds the speaker convincing. After they are done leafletting, she and Julia walk to the waterfront, where Marion sees the helter-skelter and feels an urge to tell Julia everything. Julia is hot and suggests wading. Marion walks into the deep water and lifts her feet from the bottom as if to swim, scaring Julia. When Marion walks back to the shallows, Julia embraces her, saying, “I’ve got you.”
Patrick sends a postcard from Venice, which arrives after the men have returned. Marion remembers that when Tom packed for the trip, he clandestinely included his wedding suit. She burns the postcard in anger. Much later, in her 60s, Marion travels to Venice. As she imagines Patrick and Tom together in different parts of the city, she wonders why she is seeking out the places they visited. While she thinks she is seeking closure, the trip becomes a catalyst for her to find Patrick again.
Back in 1958, while the men are on their trip, Marion meets Julia and Sylvie for drinks. Roy arrives and makes Sylvie leave, upsetting Marion. She and Julia go for a walk, and Marion tells her the whole history of her marriage to Tom and discusses Patrick’s role in Tom’s life. Julia sympathizes but tells her that Tom won’t change. Marion reacts defensively, and Julia tells her that she, too, is “wrong” like Tom. Marion is stunned into silence in the wake of this revelation. Julia, who thought Marion knew, walks away from her, saying it’s not bright of her not to open her eyes. In the middle of the night, Marion sends an anonymous letter to Houghton, telling him that Patrick is gay.
Analysis
Marion’s class visit to the museum marks the greatest moment of alignment between her and Patrick. From the moment of her arrival at the museum, Marion is confident, feeling she belongs and finding herself able to take in the building’s beauty in a way she could not on her visit with Tom. Patrick is happy to see the children, and Marion sees how captivating he is to them. She is shocked to find him praising the work of Alice Rumbold, whom she has only seen as a problem. This moment allows her to see the truth in Tom’s praise that Patrick is willing to see others for who they are, regardless of appearances. At the end of the visit, Patrick and Marion both feel positively about the day, a rare moment when the two genuinely enjoy each other without competing for Tom’s attention. However, the beauty of the day collapses when Patrick mentions their trip to Venice, bringing Tom metaphorically into the room with them. When Marion exits abruptly with the class, she leaves Patrick with his hand still outstretched to take hers, a symbol of the possibility of their greater friendship that is lost in that moment.
Julia plays an important role in Marion’s life as a mentor and friend who encourages her to see the world more broadly. In this section of the book, Marion describes Julia as trying to rescue her from her decision to stay silent rather than confront Tom with her realization that he is gay. Julia helps Marion see the world from a wider perspective by organizing a field trip to Woodingdean, where they can look down on Brighton and the ocean, a view Marion had never seen before. She exposes her to a broader set of ideas, too, by involving her in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, a new level of political action for Marion. Her example with her students encourages Marion to reconsider her own teaching philosophy and become gentler with the children. Julia also tries to get Marion to see human behavior more broadly. Throughout the book, most characters only refer to other people as gay if they are also insulting them, but Julia both accepts that Patrick is Marion’s friend and also asks openly if he is gay. Later, she tries to get Marion to understand that Tom’s gayness is not going to change. Marion responds poorly to that idea and to Julia’s coming out. Julia tries to rescue Marion from the limitations of her thinking, but Marion is not yet ready to accept all of her ideas.
The letter Marion sends to Houghton exposing Patrick for being gay is one of the novel’s many instances of betrayal. The pressure that has been building between the three characters for the length of the novel explodes in this moment, as Marion can no longer tolerate their love triangle. While she claims not to have considered the consequences of the letter, she also admits that she knew it would harm Patrick’s livelihood and may have unconsciously realized it might also have legal consequences. Marion writes the letter in a state of emotional exhaustion, after Julia has told her that Tom will not change and that she herself is also gay. Marion feels lonely with Tom in Venice and angry at her sense of abandonment. The letter is in part an act of revenge. However, Patrick has been Marion’s friend as well as Tom’s lover. He has taken her side in arguments, made sure to include her in time spent on walks with Tom in the Isle of Wight, and welcomed her students to the museum. The letter therefore functions not only as revenge against Patrick for taking Tom’s attention but also as a betrayal of her own friendship with Patrick.
