The Door

Emerence’s recovery continues smoothly, as though she’s relieved. The better Emerence seems, the more Magda’s anxiety grows, knowing that her lies will be exposed. The Lieutenant Colonel assures Magda that Emerence will survive, but Magda is convinced that he doesn’t truly know Emerence. Everyone in the neighborhood looks for the cats but can’t find them. Meanwhile, the community gathers, seemingly organized by Sutu. Since Emerence’s illness, the neighborhood has divided up Emerence’s responsibilities among themselves, but Sutu insists that this can’t go on forever. Magda thinks Sutu is betraying Emerence by conspiring against her to become the “new caretaker” since Emerence will never recover to her previous strength.

Magda disputes Sutu’s version of events, insisting that Emerence can move into her house. Sutu points out that Emerence will never allow this to transpire. She doesn’t want any kind of life, Sutu says, because “she needs her own life, and she doesn’t have that any more” (276). Magda knows this is true, but views Sutu as a traitor. As the community resolves to continue covering for Emerence, Magda visits the doctor. He pushes for Emerence to be sent home from the hospital. Magda protests, but the doctor insists. He urges Magda to prepare Emerence’s home and assures her that, had she not intervened, Emerence would have died within 48 hours. The Lieutenant Colonel organizes for Emerence’s home to be redecorated and refurnished. Magda hopes that Emerence will move in with her and her husband, but she fears that Sutu is right.

Tension grips Magda. She wants to see Emerence, but Emerence refuses visitors. Magda ignores the sign on the door of Emerence’s hospital room. She enters and finds Emerence already veiled; she realizes that the woman recognized her footsteps. Emerence asks about her cats. They’re all gone, Magda says. Then, she tells the truth about what happened to Emerence’s apartment. She refers to it as a “tragedy.” Learning that Magda went to Athens in the aftermath of the incident, Emerence is enraged. Magda tries to make excuses, but Emerence cuts through them. She dismisses Magda, criticizing her again for not allowing her to die, as she had “made up [her] mind to” (288) when she realized that she would never work again.

Now, she can’t stand to have Magda around her. Magda is upset. She runs home through the rain. She frets at home. Her husband is also anxious. Unexpectedly, Viola becomes erratic, so they call the vet, who finds nothing wrong with the dog. Then, Viola begins to howl. Magda’s husband marks the time. Quietly, knowing what this means, Magda takes her raincoat and goes to the hospital. The doctor explains to her that Emerence demanded to leave, almost crawling out of bed despite her condition, and experienced another embolism. She died at the moment when Viola began to howl. Magda again feels guilty for having robbed Emerence of “a dignified finale in death” (292). When Magda sees Emerence’s dead body, she collapses and is hospitalized for a week. Many people visit, but only her husband’s face never loses “its expression of pity and overwhelming grief” (293).

In the end, Magda is surprised by “how simply it all [goes]” (294). The Lieutenant Colonel makes arrangements for Emerence’s preliminary burial; after the construction of her crypt, she and her family will be exhumed and reburied. Viola seems “supremely indifferent” to events around her. He never barks again after Emerence’s death. The probate hearing is held, and Emerence’s estate is divided as per her wishes, without any dispute. Seemingly, everyone in the neighborhood attends the funeral. All small businesses are closed. Though Emerence was openly antagonistic toward organized religion, Magda convinces the priest to speak at her funeral. She’s “deeply moved” by his eulogy. Many people come out to mourn, a sign of how many lives Emerence touched.

Afterward, the Lieutenant Colonel and Magda prepare to enter Emerence’s home. Magda seems tense; the Lieutenant Colonel is surprised, since Emerence “loved [her].” He has glimpsed inside the apartment once before, he says, and Magda will likely inherit a set of expensive, ornate furniture. They enter the apartment and move the safe. They reveal the “most beautifully furnished room” (302) that Magda has ever seen. When they enter, however, they discover that the furniture has been destroyed by woodworm. Anything that Magda touches collapses into dust. The reward Emerence received for saving Eva Grossman is ruined, save for a single clock. Magda doesn’t want the clock but takes it home. By the time the cleaners arrive, no furniture is left. By this time, however, Magda is “no longer interested” (304).

Magda notices that Sutu seems to be ostracized from the local community. Magda visits the priest to thank him. When he remarks on the silence, Magda explains that “the silence is a country custom” (305). No one is watching television out of respect for Emerence. Everyone, from every religion, is mourning her, Magda says. The next time Magda goes to church, she notices that Sutu is missing. In the following weeks, Magda learns that the villa will need to hire a caretaker to replace Emerence. Magda speaks to her husband, and he thinks the choice is obvious. Magda is appalled by the idea of hiring Sutu, but her husband points out that Adélka is the natural choice.

Adélka replaces Emerence in the apartment. Magda can’t help but feel that they’re “traitors” for replacing Emerence. She’s tired, depressed, and behind with her work. Her husband encourages her to move through this period of mourning. He points out that she’ll need another housekeeper to help her work. He suggests that she hire Sutu, precisely because (unlike Magda and Emerence) she and Sutu don’t love one another. Sutu will “help [Magda] for the rest of her life” (310) and has no secrets.

In a short final chapter, Magda writes that her dreams are always the same. In her recurring vision, she’s trying to unlock a door while an ambulance waits outside. The key turns, but her “efforts are in vain” (311).