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Outline

Rachel Cusk

Outline

Rachel Cusk

Outline Chapters 3-4 Summary & Analysis

Chapter 3 Summary

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and mental illness.

After breakfast with Ryan, Faye returns to the apartment she is renting. The apartment belongs to a writer named Cleia, who is traveling right now. Faye does not know Cleia, though her top-floor apartment seems like a private place. Opposite Cleia’s apartment building is a café, which has a photograph of people on its window; this creates a realistic illusion that always throws off Faye. 

The apartment itself is highly organized and filled with beautiful artifacts. Faye describes the artifacts in detail, including wooden models of ships mounted on the wall of Cleia’s study. These are so intricately made that they appear real, as if the wind is rippling their sails. However, when Faye touches the sails, they are not made of cloth at all but of paper. 

The kitchen appears functional, but is filled with unpacked devices, such as an unboxed ravioli maker. It is spotlessly clean. The cupboards and drawers in the rest of the apartment are also meticulously organized, with everything in its correct place. In the center of the apartment is a terracotta statue of a woman on a plinth.

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