The Custom of the Country Chapter 15

In which the gathering at the Dagonet drawing-room reveals the delicate tensions of an American household, where the customary demands and failures of social and familial roles unfold with a measure of wistful irony. Among reflections on marriage and sentiment, Ralph Marvell’s fatigued patience and Undine’s elusive presence underscore the subtle fractures beneath the polished surface of their shared existence.