Chapters 10 & 11 Summary

The narrator begins to realize that his grandmother, Charlotte, has nothing else to teach him about France, because he has read everything he can find about French history and his own knowledge of France's historical events surpasses hers. Now that his older sister has moved to Moscow to continue her studies, the narrator feels guilty about his changed relationship with Charlotte, especially since he will be alone with her all summer. As a teenage boy, he is not concerned with fairy tales any longer and feels overwhelmed with thoughts about women. The narrator is particularly struck when he comes across a photo of three women dressed in tight black dresses, in the Siberian suitcase. He is struck by their sheer femininity, and his inability to access the women. As a teenage boy, he is attracted to the women and attempts to picture them...