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CHAPTER 40
SUMMARY
Going to Lausane For the Baby
They had a fine life. The winter was fine and they were happy. But with spring came the rain which turned the snow into slush and made the mountainside dismal. Henry and Catherine decided to move to town because the winter was over and the weather dismal. Further, the baby was due in about a month. They should move to Lausane as that was where the big hospital was situated. They bid goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Guttingen and took a train to Lausane.
Settled in a Hotel
They took a room in a medium-sized hotel. And Catherine set about trying to make it look like home. It was March 1918, and the German offensive had started in France. Henry called Catherine to come over to the bed. Catherine complies but says she can’t be much fun as she was so urgently. But Henry doesn’t mind. To him, she is as beautiful as ever. They stay in their room deciding not to go out.
The Time of Delivery Nearing
They had been in the hotel for three weeks. They had a pleasant time and Catherine had bought all the baby things she needed. Henry went to a gymnasium for exercise. He had a good time there. Sometimes they went for rides out in the country in a carriage. They had a splendid time and never had a bad time. They knew the baby was very close and it gave them a feeling as though something was hurrying them and they couldn’t lose any time together.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Some More Details
As in previous chapter, this chapter too is filled with small details. The student can make out the small seemingly insignificant details that are unnecessary as far as the action of the novel is concerned but are very important for the realism of the novel.
We are told in this chapter that the time of delivery is fast approaching. Henry and Catherine have moved to Lausane in preparation for it. And suddenly the mood shifts from light-hearted humor to one of tension in the last line of the chapter “something were hurrying us and we could not lose any time together”.