Individual Reading (Part 2)

The narrator met Charles Strickland and had a long talk with him. Strickland wore an old Norfolk jacket, and he had not shaved for several days, but in fact he felt better that at home. During their conversation the narrator understood that Strickland wasn’t sorry about his action and it was the most important thing for him to become an artist. Also the narrator realized that Strickland left for Paris alone. He had no a woman at that time. As for his family, he didn’t worry about it. Coming back to London the narrator described his meeting with this man to his wife and he told her that the main reason was his wish to become an artist. It was very difficult for her to make up with her husband’s decision, but she was a woman of character. It was about five years after this that the narrator decided to live in Paris for a while. In point of fact, he met Strickland before he had been a fortnight there. They met in the same cafe where the narrator and Strickland had drunk last time. Firstly he didn’t recognized Strickland because of his red beard and his long hair, but the most surprising change in him was his extreme thinness.