The Well of Loneliness

Stephen and Mary spend time with Jaime, Barbara, and another of Valérie Seymour’s frequent guests, an alcoholic Polish painter named Wanda. They drink and dance, with Wanda directing Stephen so Stephen can learn to be as good a dancer as Mary. When everyone leaves Stephen and Mary talk about what fun they had. Mary mentions Lady Massey but says she knows they have friends they can trust now so the incident doesn’t matter anymore. The mention of Lady Massey makes Stephen worry that Mary is still unhappy.

Stephen often frequents Wanda’s church with Wanda. Wanda is at turns passionately and gravely religious. Stephen wonders if the god Wanda prays to will ever provide “salvation” for homosexuals on earth.

Stephen grows more insecure about her relationship with Mary, eventually all but cutting off visits with Madame Duphot in fear of suffering through another Lady Massey situation. Stephen is determined to only frequent other homosexuals, since they are the only people she feels she can trust. Pat, one of Valérie Seymour’s frequent guests, invites Stephen and Mary to the Ideal Bar, introducing them to the Paris nightlife for the first time. Mary is excited but Stephen is apprehensive.

At the Ideal Bar, Stephen and Mary meet Pat and several of Valérie Seymour’s frequent guests, as well as Dickie, a young female aviator visiting Paris, and Valérie Seymour’s most recent lover, the young and attractive Jeanne Maurel. Wanda gets drunk and makes a scene. Stephen thinks she should get Mary back home, but she quickly realizes Mary is having a good time. The group moves to another bar called La Narcisse. Stephen and Mary dance together, and everyone drinks and talks. Brockett shows up and tries to ask Stephen if she’s “happy,” but Stephen shrugs the question off. They go to several more bars. Valérie Seymour, who remains adamantly sober, seems more and more impressive to Stephen in her ability to remain “cool” in the face of practically anything. Stephen is disgusted when they enter a dive called Alec’s. Sins and drugs of every kind are happening all around her. One of Valérie Seymour’s guests, Adolphe, notices her disgust and tries to justify the sinfulness around her by calling it “despair.”

Back at home, Stephen expresses her disappointment with the night of barhopping. Mary says at least they never have to worry about being judged.

Adèle gets married to Jean in a big wedding partly funded by Stephen. They are married in Notre-Dames-des-Victoires. Back at the house, there is much merriment, if a few jokes made at Stephen’s expense.

Stephen is permeated with “sadness” after having witnessed Adèle’s wedding, a ceremony she will never get to take part in. Mary and David sense Stephen’s depression and comfort her. 

Business at Morton calls again, but this time Stephen handles everything via post, unwilling to put Mary through either a painful visit or her painful absence. They vacation for a bit with Barbara and Jaime, partially in hopes of helping Barbara’s deteriorating health. Jaime is more depressed than ever. She can barely work, frustrated by her lack of money and Barbara’s recent inability to engage sexually. Stephen offers Jaime money countless times, but Jaime refuses all attempts. Barbara doesn’t seem to be getting better, so Mary begs her to let them help with the doctor’s bill, but Barbara is insistent that it would upset Jaime too much.

All of them start going to the bar quite a lot, except Barbara, who is too ill. Even when they are home, they drink a lot, a habit Mary defends. Mary also defends the barhopping by explaining a bar is one of the only public settings where they can dance together and not be mocked.

Stephen has had to put her work on hold to satisfy Mary’s need to go out. She worries about Mary’s drinking, which has increased substantially. Sometimes Mary regrets drinking in the morning. When this happens, Stephen expresses her discontent with their new lifestyle. This only angers Mary, who says they must continue going to bars because they aren’t welcome anywhere else.

One winter morning, Jaime arrives at Stephen’s to tell them Barbara cannot get up. She believes it is the result of a fight they had, after which Barbara went out in the cold weather. Stephen agrees to go over to Jaime’s, but not without calling a doctor first.

The doctor comes and says Barbara has double pneumonia. Mary cleans the house and goes grocery shopping while Stephen arranges for a nurse. Barbara loses consciousness, and the nurse has Jaime lie down, as she is not looking healthy either. The nurse can’t ask Jaime to make any big decisions regarding Barbara because they are not technically family. The nurse asks if Jaime is “mental” (364). This outrages Stephen, but Jaime is too sad to care. She keeps bringing up the fight she and Barbara had.

Barbara dies quickly after the nurse arrives. She kisses Jaime’s hand but is unable to talk to her. Jaime lays on top of her, sobbing. She dismisses the nurse, who looks to Stephen for approval. Stephen tells the nurse it is okay to leave. When she is gone, Jaime grows angry and expresses her anguish over not being able to publicly “mourn” Barbara, as she knows to do so would bring Barbara shame. Jaime thanks Mary and Stephen for their help and asks them to leave. At first, Stephen isn’t sure this is a good idea, but then she recognizes Jaime’s “right” to be with her dead lover.

The next morning Stephen and Mary arrive at Jaime and Barbara’s to find that Jaime has killed herself with a revolver.