Part 5 Summary

Part 5, "Lambs," began with Lily's thoughts on suicide: "When people kill themselves, they think they're ending the pain, but all they're doing is passing it on to those they leave behind." (Part 5, p. 113).

Lily was consumed by grief over Helen's death. Everything annoys her, even the children she teaches. If it wasn't for the children Lily says she would stay home but she has a duty to fulfill. The thought of Helen's baby also consumes Lily. For the first time, Lily decides that she wants to have a child. Lily proposes to Jim Smith. Lily tells Jim that her only criteria include being partners in the marriage and that Jim, as a Mormon, will not take another wife. Jim says he believes Lily is all he could ever handle. The couple marries in the schoolhouse. Lily is 29 years old.

The couple moved to...