Prufrock and Other Observations (1917) - Portrait of a Lady Summary

Section I: The narrator, a man, visits a woman on a winter afternoon at her home. They meet in a dark room that is quiet and still. He feels that this meeting will be one of things said and not said and he will tiptoe around delicate topics. Music plays in the background and there is a hint that they have regrets. They do not expand on these regrets, instead returning to harmless conversation. The woman says she has everything she needs, but friends are most important. She says that life is nothing without friends who truly share with one another. He's uncomfortable with this talk.

Section II: The narrator is at the woman's home again in spring. She tells him that he does not know what...