Ind.Reading "The Moon and Sixpence". Part 5

Summary (49-58 chapters)

Mrs. Johnson, the hostess of the hotel in Tahiti, told the narrator how she found Strickland his wife, a native Ata. After a wedding dinner, they went to the forest where Ata had her property in a fold of the mountain. The next three years were the happiest of Strickland’s life. He painted and read, and when it was dark, they sat together on the verandah, smoking and looking at the night. Ata didn’t bother him, did everything what he told her and brought up their child. He died of leprosy. Having learnt of his loathsome disease, Strickland wanted to go up into the mountain, but Ata didn’t let him. In spite of his blindness, the last stage of leprosy, he continued to work, painting the walls of the house. The doctor who came to see the patient found him dead, but he was the only person who saw those wall pictures. It was the work of a man who had delved into the hidden depths of nature. Having created this masterpiece, Strickland ordered his wife to burn down the house after his death and she didn’t dare to disturb his last wish. Having returned to London, the author met Mrs. Strickland who acted herself as if she and Charles had fine relationship. The author told her what he had learned about Charles Strickland in Tahiti but thought it unnecessary to say anything of Ata and their boy. Having ceased his narration, the author thought of Strickland’s son by Ata and saw him with his mind’s eye on the schooner on which he worked.