Part 2, Chapter 1 Summary

A subterranean commuter who resembles the tepid J. Alfred Prufrock in the poem of that name by T.S. Eliot (Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock), Mr. Pivner, makes his way home to his New York apartment through city sits down city streets and crowds. In his lonesome abode, he unwraps a syringe and sits down to read the salacious newspaper headlines before injecting himself with insulin for his diabetes. He stares blankly at a brief letter he has read and reread many times. He quickly calculates both his financial and chemical worth, which comes to $105,720 and 97 cents, respectively. Agnes Deigh lights a cigarette and crumples up a newspaper clipping reporting the trial of a woman in Missouri named Agnes Day, accused of stabbing her husband to death. A friend had sent it to her as a joke. Obviously, she is...