The Mountain, Chapter 7 Summary

Back in Athens, James meets Ann Maitland at a café. As they talk, James begins to wonder whether adultery is simply a way we make our travel seem more memorable, pointedly drawing attention to Ann's affair. He also discusses his new attitude toward solitude. He has decides being alone is simply an awareness of everything around you. It is a crowded experience. Ann's son, Peter, shows up. A university student, Peter is disparaging and secretive toward his mother and James. Charles arrives next, and he vocally laments his son's condescension. Peter is nonplussed, and he mocks his father's oblivion, another thinly-veiled reference to Ann's infidelity. Peter and Ann go for a walk.

Later, James checks in with his anglophile secretary Mrs. Helen. Owen shows up at the office. He has just returned from the Mani, mountains on the southern...