Summary

The morning after making the move to new quarters, Madame Wu wakes “with a new feeling of lightness.” She considers the quiet and peace of her new rooms which, narration reveals, were once those of her quiet, bookish father-in-law (Old Gentleman). Narration comments on how little of her past life she has brought with her: aside from clothes and her little silver pipe, only the painting of the mountain climber has made the move with her. As she dresses and breakfasts, she contemplates the qualities that she believes would be most appropriate for a concubine for her husband, and decides that someone as different as possible from herself (in appearance, temperament, background, and intellect) would be best. Her contemplations are interrupted by the arrival of her mother-in-law, Old Lady, who demands to know the true reasons for her (Madame Wu’s) decision. Madame Wu...