45 pages • 1 hour read
Michael Without Apology
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Part 5Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of illness, death, child death, and sexual content.
Part 5: “Michael, Age Nineteen”
Part 5, Chapter 7 Summary: “Madeleine the Fierce”
While having coffee with Mr. Dunning, Michael gets distracted while watching an attractive, older woman examine his ad in the student union. After Dunning leaves, the woman calls Michael. They discuss the documentary and then continue the conversation in person. The woman insists that Michael is too attractive to be making such a film and demands he show her his scars. They go into the unisex bathroom, and Michael lifts his shirt. The woman agrees to call him back about the film.
That evening, Michael receives a call from the woman while he is unwrapping his new camera. She introduces herself as Madeleine and explains her interest in the film. She has breast cancer and had a mastectomy. They discuss the project, and Madeleine invites him to use her home for filming.
Part 5, Chapter 8 Summary: “The Problem With a Fallback Position”
The next day, Michael makes plans with Madeleine to see her home. The house is impressive, and Michael agrees that it’d be perfect for the film. Madeleine explains that she is 30 years old and doing a memoir-writing class because she wants “to get [her] life down into some kind of coherent story” (85).
