# VI: Collapse of the Romance explained — Wired Love

> Chapter companion for Wired Love by Ella Cheever Thayer.

## What happens

Nattie arrives at the office to find C is away for the day, leaving her lonely and reflective about their telegraphic friendship. Later, a vulgar, musk-scented man claiming to be C appears, shattering her romanticized image of him. She realizes her C was an illusion, and the encounter ends their connection.

## Themes in this chapter

### Illusion vs. Reality in Relationships

Nattie's romanticized image of C is completely destroyed when she meets him in person, revealing the gap between her imagined friend and the coarse reality.

### Miscommunication and Misunderstanding

C's deception about his whereabouts and his true identity leads to Nattie's shock and the collapse of their friendship.

## Character check-ins

### Nathalie Rogers

Nattie is the central point of view; she experiences loneliness when C is away and then profound disillusionment when C reveals himself as a coarse, vulgar man.

### Mr. C.

C is initially absent, then appears in person as a greasy, cheaply dressed man with a familiar manner, shattering Nattie's romantic image of him.

### Quimby

Quimby is mentioned indirectly when Nattie recalls his warning about the 'soiled invisible' after C's true appearance is revealed.

### Betsey Kling

Miss Kling is referenced as someone who would have been shocked by C's familiar address on the wire.

## Key lines

> B m⁠—B m⁠—B m⁠—N⁠—N⁠—N⁠—Oh! where are you, N? Where is the little girl at B m⁠—B m⁠—B m?

C calls out to Nattie using their telegraphic code, asking where she is.

_This opening shows the intimate, coded communication between C and Nattie._

> Nattie let go of hope and the umbrella, and collapsed with her romance into a chair; and she thought of Quimby's warning about the 'soiled invisible,' and barely suppressed a groan.

Nattie's romantic hopes are crushed as she realizes the vulgar man before her is C, recalling Quimby's earlier caution.

_This moment marks the climax of the chapter's disillusionment theme._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/wired_love_se/chapters/vi-collapse-of-the-romance
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/wired_love_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/wired_love_se/chapters