Nightwood: Where the Tree Falls Summary & Analysis

Felix has been seen in numerous countries standing in front of palace gates, contemplating everything he sees. He’s written about different noblemen, but his articles are never printed. When Felix realized Guido (junior) was unwell (he’s very small, obsessed with death, and “Mentally deficient”), he began collecting religious items with the intention to send them to the Pope. Guido once told Felix that he wanted to go into the church and Felix knew this meant that to be a good father he would have to let go much of his own identity and hopes. Now, Felix researches the church and even wrote a long letter to the Pope about the state of the Catholic church. Felix never got an answer to this letter, but that’s okay because he only wanted to write to explore his own thoughts, and he knows Guido won’t ever be called to become a priest or monk.

Felix decides to settle in Vienna, but first goes to visit Matthew. Back in Paris, Felix sees Matthew walking down the street in clothes he just wore to a funeral and looking much older. Felix calls to him and Matthew hurriedly snaps himself out of his thoughts and greets Felix. Felix explains that he’s had some trouble and asks Matthew to accompany him to dinner at a nice restaurant. As they drive into the night, Felix mentions he’s never seen “the Baronin” in this light and never really understood her. Since she left, Felix has heard a lot about her from others, but it only confuses him more. Felix explains that his knowledge of his family history comes from a single source, which gives him a feeling of immortality because the information never changes; eternity is something that doesn’t change, and everyone craves that stability.

Felix says that he was drawn to Robin because she seemed to represent security, but he learned that it was actually loss. His great mistake was seeing acquiescence where there was none and he tells Matthew that what he really wants to know is why she married him because it’s made his life dark. Matthew theorizes that she was “mourning for something taken away from her” in the war. Felix doesn’t respond to this but says Jenny came to visit him, which takes Matthew by surprise. Felix says he didn’t know who Jenny was at first because she was heavily veiled. Jenny told him she wanted to buy a painting, but Felix soon realized this was a front. Jenny began talking about Robin, but not by name so Felix didn’t realize who it was at first.

In Felix’s story, Jenny talked about Robin and her strange relationship with Sylvia, who loved her. Robin would wake Sylvia up to ask if she loved her throughout the night. When Sylvia returned to her parents for the holidays, Jenny became anxious and called the child back to see if Robin had a heart. When Sylvia came back Robin had clearly forgotten all about her. As Jenny was about to leave her conversation with Felix, she finally mentioned Robin by name. When Felix turned around, he realized that Guido (junior) had heard everything. This was okay because Felix has always encouraged Guido to expect Robin one day. Matthew lights up and says Felix did right because Guido is maladjusted, which Matthew assures Felix isn’t a bad thing because Guido will never need to be pitied.

Felix pauses and then confesses to Matthew that he recognizes a form of happiness in the possibility that his son will die young. It’s the worst thing that could happen to Felix, but once that happens then Felix could start over again and find joy. Felix’s whole life revolves around Guido. Matthew asks about Robin and Felix explains that Robin is still with him in Guido. Felix goes on to say that Robin was always looking for someone to tell her that she was innocent; Guido is like that, but he is actually innocent. Robin kept searching for reassurance until she found Nora. Felix also says that Robin is one of those people who needs permission to live, and if nobody gives it to her then she’ll create her own innocence even if the rest of the world calls it depraved.

Matthew declares that accepting depravity is the best way to capture the past. He says people are born and die “rebuking cleanliness,” but there is a middle period of “slovenliness.” Felix agrees and Matthew goes on to say that cleanliness creates a fear of destiny and history, which aren’t clean. Robin, however, didn’t fear them. Felix says that Robin seemed to be covered with the past and it slowed her movements. He likens this to the air of an old building, which seems denser than the air around a new building. Felix was attracted to Robin’s “density of youth.” After a short silence, Felix asks Matthew if his son’s “preoccupation” is better than Felix’s. Troubled, Matthew tells Felix to stop looking for calamity because he already has it in Guido. People are only whole when they consider their shadows, and Guido is Felix’s anxiety’s shadow.

Felix tells Matthew that people say his son isn’t sane and asks what Matthew thinks. Matthew’s opinion is that Guido’s mind is apt and that means there’s hope. Felix mutters that Guido never grows up and Matthew responds that Guido’s emotional sensitivity might obscure the workings of his mind. Matthew admits that Guido’s sanity is an unknown but urges Felix to take care of Guido’s mind because nobody knows what’s in it. Felix orders an alcoholic drink and Matthew, smiling, reminds Felix that he said he’d start drinking one day. Felix says he always thought Matthew meant that he’d give up. Matthew says he might have meant that, but he might have been wrong; people are both innocent and damned from the start and must find their own ways to live.

Felix asks if Robin is damned. Matthew, recognizing Felix’s hidden meaning, replies that Guido is not damned but blessed, and that aristocracy is a state of mind. He also observes that nobody realizes it when they find what they’re looking for. Felix asks if Matthew ever hears from Robin and Felix says that she’s in America and writes to her friends (not Matthew, which he’s grateful for) asking them not to forget her. Matthew theorizes that she struggles to remember herself. Felix says that he, like Matthew, once wanted to go behind the scenes of life to find the secrets of time but discovered that it’s impossible for a sane person to do that. Felix now thinks one must be a little bit insane to understand the past or the “obscure life,” which Guido lives in. Felix says this might be what Robin is looking for and then cleans his monocle.

Felix, his son, and Frau Mann arrive in Vienna together a short time later. Felix drinks heavily and has grown a beard to hide how red his face is as a result. Frau Mann, too, drinks a lot and they bring Guido to the café with them. The three make an odd picture together, Guido sitting in the middle with large glasses, watching while Felix calls for music and Frau Mann laughs. Felix tries not to look for the one thing he always wanted: a son. One night, Felix thinks he sees the late Czar Nicholas’s brother-in-law and makes a clumsy bow. He and Guido get into the carriage and Felix rubs Guido’s chapped hands.