Ind.Reading Ch.20-30

During their silent meal the author showed not the least interest in him and at last he was rewarded and Charles began to talk to himself. When the small sum of money which he brought with him from London came to an end he suffered from no dismay. He tried to earn money but failed in everything what he had done. Meanwhile he had never ceased to work at his, he didn’t sail his pictures he only wanted to paint what he saw.

Dirk Stroeve wanted to celebrate Christmas together with the author and Strickland. However, they couldn’t find Charles anywhere. It turned out that Strickland was ill and his “friends” decided to find him. Charles had a serious fever. He eat nothing except bread and some water. Stroeve decided to remove Strickland to his own flat. When Mrs. Stroeve knew about her husband’s intention, she was enraged and burst into tears. Finally, she consented to take care about Charles. Soon, Strickland started recovering, but he was not obliged at all. But suddenly it turned out, that Blanche had secretly fallen in love with Strickland and decided to leave Stroeve with him. However, Stroeve because of his great love to this woman left Strickland and his wife in his own flat. He came to the author and shared with him his misfortune.