Madame Curie Chapter Summary & Analysis - Part 3: Chapter 27 Summary

Part 3: Chapter 27 Summary

Although Marie often speaks of her own death, she rebels against the idea. Like Pierre, Marie believes there is still too much to be done, a fact she uses to defend herself against any notion of illness or death. She decides to move to a modern apartment closer to the university, and finally makes plans to build her house in Sceaux.

In defiance of her own mortality, Marie has never taken precautions against the harmful effects of radiation, and thirty-five years of handling radium finally take their toll. Her hands are burned, her blood deteriorated, and Marie is unable to rid herself of her constant fatigue. She develops a fever she cannot shake. It gets the better of her on a day in May 1934, when at the laboratory Marie suddenly tells her assistants she has to go home. She pauses outside over a sickly rose and tells her mechanic...
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