Summary

Over the next six weeks, the narrator attempts to win the favor of the Bordereaus, but he makes little progress, as they lead extremely solitary lives, and he is often unable to make contact with them even as he lives in the same house as them. For want of company, the narrator often visits Mrs. Prest, but she eventually leaves Venice on a scheduled trip elsewhere. Mrs. Prest had hoped to gain some entertainment via the narrator’s endeavors, but she is ultimately disappointed by his lack of progress. The narrator briefly conversed with Tita when giving her the promised 3,000 francs to Tita, and Tita strangely exclaimed that “there’s no pleasure in this house!” (74). The narrator then purchased some furniture for his rooms and hired a manservant named Pasquale, thus adding to the overall expense of his venture. The narrator is irked by...