Part 4, Chapter 19 Summary

Part 4 bears the title of the novel as a whole. The narrator flies to Benengeli to reclaim his mother's stolen paintings and to heal something broken within him. He describes his first experience flying, the disconnection from reality it brings. He falls asleep and awakens to talk with a friendly flight attendant, Eduvigis Refugio. She leads him to the restroom for a quick romp, and then they part. Later he wants to talk with her, but a different stewardess answers his summons; there is no one of that name on board, she assures him, and a pilot authoritatively backs her claim. Cowed, Moor contemplates what lies ahead in a land of foreign language, people, and customs. He is alone in his quest.

The airliner lands in Madrid and Moor takes a smaller plane south to Andalusia. He is feeling dizzy, deaf...