The Moon and Sixpence · Chapter
XXXVII explained
After Blanche Stroeve's funeral, the narrator and Dirk Stroeve return from the cemetery.
What happens
After Blanche Stroeve's funeral, the narrator and Dirk Stroeve return from the cemetery. The narrator, feeling detached and bored with the tragedy, suggests Dirk leave Paris and start working again in Italy. Dirk declines an invitation to lunch and insists on going to the studio alone. The narrator, relieved to be free of the sorrow, finds renewed pleasure in the streets of Paris.
Themes in this chapter
The Meaning of Greatness
The narrator's detachment from the tragedy and his turn to other subjects reflects a questioning of what truly matters in life.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Accompanies Dirk to the funeral, feels detached and bored, suggests Dirk leave Paris, and feels relief when left alone.
- Dirk Stroeve
Grieves for Blanche, follows the hearse to the cemetery, declines the narrator's invitation to lunch, and goes to the studio alone.
Key passages
“I was beginning to be bored with a tragedy that did not really concern me, and pretending to myself that I spoke in order to distract Stroeve, I turned with relief to other subjects.”
The narrator admits he is growing weary of the tragedy and, under the guise of comforting Stroeve, changes the subject to relieve his own boredom.
Highlights the narrator's emotional detachment and self-awareness.
“I took a new pleasure in the streets of Paris, and I looked with smiling eyes at the people who hurried to and fro. The day was fine and sunny, and I felt in myself a more acute delight in life.”
After parting from Stroeve, the narrator feels a renewed joy in the simple pleasures of Parisian life.
Contrasts the narrator's relief with Stroeve's grief.