Chapter 26 — Arobin's apology; Reisz feels for wings

In the morning Arobin sends Edna a written note. The note apologizes for the kiss the night before — "frankly, without affectation, as though aware of having taken a liberty he had no right to take." Edna reads it twice and replies with a careful note of her own. The breach is mended. The arrangement is preserved. Both notes are designed; both writers know it. Arobin will continue to call at the house, and the next contact will not be Edna's wrist.

Edna also visits Mademoiselle Reisz that afternoon. The pianist is at her stove making coffee. She watches Edna come in and observes, in the way Reisz observes things, that Edna has changed. The change is the residue of the kiss, the residue of the calls Arobin is making, the residue of the autumn. Reisz makes Edna sit down. She comes around behind her again. This time, instead of feeling for the wings on her shoulder blades, she presses her hand against Edna's heart. "Bonne nuit, ma reine. Soyez sage" — be wise. The pianist is testing whether the heart has the strength for what the heart is contemplating.

The chapter is the structural meeting of the two paths Edna has been moving between since Robert left. Arobin is the test case for whether the freedom she is reaching for can be filled by a different man. Reisz is the test case for whether the freedom can be lived as the artist Reisz is. Edna will spend the next several chapters, without resolving either, moving between them. She does not yet know that both tests will fail.