Contents
Part II The Baths — Chapter Twelve
Overview
Marya, managed by Fossor, endures discreet elite soirees until she rebels by performing, which draws the attention of a powerful, secretive Count. He promises to find Senlin but instead claims Marya, then later confiscates Ogier’s painting and threatens him to ensure silence. The episode reveals Marya’s disappearance and the Count’s coercive control.
Summary
Ogier’s recollection continues as he describes Marya’s modeling sessions: calm mornings of tea, cigarettes, and painting, followed by her nightly outings with Mr. Horace Fossor to discreet aristocratic soirees. Fossor strictly instructs Marya to be passive, conceal her plight unless prompted, and avoid befriending young women, promising that the Coterie of Talents prefers patronage to open charity.
Initially, Marya is ignored, growing frustrated with Fossor’s constraints and the parties’ tedium. When Fossor moves to withdraw, Marya pointedly takes the piano, belts a raw sailor’s lament, and shocks the room. Her audacity attracts a close-cropped, bearded aristocrat—soon dubbed “the Count”—who engages her, flattered and intrigued by her defiance.
At a subsequent, more exclusive gathering, the Count monopolizes Marya, urging her to play and to confide her deepest wish. When Marya declares she wants her lost husband found, the Count vows to produce Senlin the next evening. Buoyed with hope, Marya tells Ogier she expects a reunion and delights in the completed portrait, planning to show Senlin.
Marya never returns to Ogier. Instead, the Count arrives with armed attendants, appraises the painting, and accuses Ogier of exploiting Marya. He reveals he intends to be Marya’s husband “all but sworn,” smears out Ogier’s signature, and orders the portrait seized. The Count threatens Ogier into silence, making clear his power and possession over Marya.
The encounter confirms that the promised reunion was a ruse: Marya has been claimed by the Count, and witnesses like Ogier are being intimidated, tightening the circle around Marya’s disappearance.
Who Appears
- Marya SenlinModels for Ogier, endures Fossor’s soirees, boldly performs, attracts a powerful Count, and subsequently disappears.
- The CountSecretive young aristocrat; charms Marya, promises to find Senlin, then claims her, seizes her portrait, and threatens Ogier.
- Horace FossorHandler guiding Marya through elite soirees, insists on discretion and passivity, nearly abandons her before the Count intervenes.
- OgierPainter who hosts Marya, completes her portrait, then is coerced by the Count, who confiscates the painting and silences him.