Chapter 4, Wife and Mistress Summary

Zeno is surprised when on his honeymoon trip, he discovers he truly loves Augusta, and she loves him. The newlyweds have very different ideas about how to spend their time, but they tour Italy, visiting museums until they can take no more. Upon returning home, Zeno is again pleasantly surprised when he finds Augusta has transformed his house. Although he worries initially that his home will be invaded, instead he finds that he still has all the familiar comforts, but now they are more pleasant and more practical. Their only point of disagreement is that Augusta wants to have a laundry shed built in the yard, anticipating someday doing laundry for their future children. On one thing Augusta insists: the scheduled hours for mealtimes, waking and sleeping are to be strictly observed. Zeno learns his lesson one...