Back on the street, Hussonnet reveals that he works at
Monsieur Arnoux’s magazine, L’Art Industriel. Frédéric
and Hussonnet exchange addresses and promise to meet again. Reluctant
to visit Hussonnet too soon, Frédéric deliberately runs into him
one evening, and they go to Frédéric’s apartment to talk. Hussonnet wants
to become famous in the theater; he writes musical comedies and
songs. He insults Frédéric’s books of poetry, written by poets from
the Romantic school who he claims had no common sense. Angry, Frédéric
gets to the point and asks Hussonnet if he can take him to Arnoux’s
house. Hussonnet agrees.
Soon, they visit the Arnouxes’ house. It is full of artists,
and Hussonnet engages in a passionate debate about the role of money
in art. Arnoux invites him and Frédéric back. Various people come
in and out of the shop below Arnoux’s home, including a man named Regimbart,
and the afternoon wears on. Discussion turns to politics and gossip.
Soon people begin to leave, and Frédéric walks for a while with
an artist named Pellerin. They agree to see each other again.
Pellerin is a mostly unsuccessful artist who has made
nothing but sketches. When Frédéric visits him, he sometimes finds
Pellerin in bed, having been out at the theater late. He never mentions
Madame Arnoux to Frédéric, but one day Frédéric sees a sketch that
resembles her in one of Pellerin’s sketchbooks. Pellerin says Arnoux
has many mistresses, but that Madame Arnoux is virtuous.
Frédéric also spends time with Regimbart, another friend
of Arnoux’s, who drinks a lot, plays billiards, and does not do
any work. Arnoux admires him, and Frédéric tolerates him for this
reason only.
Though Frédéric looks up to Arnoux as a man who values
the arts, Arnoux actually is a shrewd art seller who often cheats
his customers. However, he thinks of himself as honest.
Arnoux actually does not live at the home where Frédéric
has been spending so much time. Frédéric accompanies Regimbart and Pellerin
to a bar, where the two older men complain about Arnoux. Frédéric
stands up for Arnoux, but when he goes back to see him under the
pretense of looking for a lost notebook, he suddenly sees Arnoux
as vulgar. He leaves, convinced he won’t be back.
