The Window Chapters 5, 6, 7 and 8 Summary

Mrs. Ramsay pauses in knitting a stocking for the lighthouse keeper's boy and asks James to stand so that she may measure the length against his leg. As James fidgets, Mrs. Ramsay glances around her and notices the shabbiness of the furnishings in the house but consoles herself with its relatively low rent and the fact that the children idolize the summers there.

Mrs. Ramsay bemoans her own inadequacies. She has spent her time raising her gifted children. For all their intellect and creativity, though, her children seem unable to grasp the concept that doors should be closed and windows open. This leads Mrs. Ramsay to thoughts of their Swiss maid, Maria, who loves the open windows and whose father is dying from cancer. For a few moments, Mrs. Ramsay is lost in a swell of despair...