Chapter II Summary

The narrator relates some of de Selby's ideas about houses, of which de Selby disapproves, since they lead to vices like playing chess and marriage. He proposes roofless houses and houses without walls as healthier options. As the narrator arrives at Mathers' house to look for the moneybox, Divney stays outside, but Mathers can still see him. The narrator easily finds the loose floorboard, and upon opening it sees the black box. As he opens the box something strange happens, as if everything has shifted. The box disappears, and the narrator turns to see Phillip Mathers sitting in the corner.

The narrator is shocked, believing it to be Mathers' twin, but a voice inside him notes that the man's neck is bandaged. The narrator realizes that the voice is his soul and names his soul Joe. The narrator begins to question...