Part 4 Summary



Diary of Juliet d'Orsey

The majority of this section is told through the perspective of Juliet d’Orsey as a child through a transcript recovered from the time Robert was invited to stay at Barbara d’Orseys hospital. Much of the transcript is spread through her diaries of the time Robert rested in her home. The beginning of this section converses on Juliet’s home life and her family working at the St. Aubyn’s hospital where Taffler and Robert have been invited to. After Robert’s knees were fully recuperated, Juliet brought Robert to see Taffler. Juliet didn’t manage to tell Robert ahead of time that Taffler lost both arms in war, and Robert was devastated.

Juliet was known for snooping around the hospital, which led to her getting inn mischievous trouble that she did not want to encounter. Juliet picked flowers for Taffler one day and brought them to him. She walked in on him attempting suicide. Taffler was rubbing his raw limbs on the walls so that he could bleed to death. Because of Juliet, she saved his life when she screamed and the nurses took notice. Also one night, Juliet walked into Robert’s room, where she found Robert and Barbara making love, which she first thought they were hurting each other. These are just a few examples of Juliet snooping and seeing things she shouldn’t have seen at such a young age.

Roberts’s legs never healed properly and had to have surgery on his knees, which gave him an extra 2 weeks leave from war. Throughout this time, Juliet and Robert made quite a good friendship, sharing stories of home and what not. Prior to Robert leaving for war, Juliet gave Robert a candle and matches’, symbolizing the ghost stories of the room Robert was staying in at the hospital. Robert held onto this candle for the rest of his time in war and comes up later in the novel as a symbolic meaning.