The Custom of the Country: Chapter 43 Summary & Analysis

Undine watches Raymond leave, knowing that despite their recent argument, he’ll be courteous the next time they see each other. She can’t find any way to get through her husband’s hard exterior.

Undine fantasizes how, if given the opportunity, she could use up all the wealth even of a man as rich as Elmer. In fact, she’d be doing just that if she had only remained his wife. She thinks back to Apex and how when Elmer first arrived, no one knew anything about him. He started making a name for himself, at first more with the men of the town than the women because of his coarse manners. Eventually, he was invited to give a prominent speech for the local Temperance Society.

Elmer’s speech for the Apex Temperance Society went over wonderfully. Afterward, there was an ice cream supper in a church basement. Elmer’s speech earlier in the day was so popular that people called on him to say more. Elmer, however, caused a scandal when he gave a speech about how he enjoys everything about drinking except the next day. After giving the speech, he tried to sit in a chair that wasn’t there and fell down. But despite the temporary social embarrassment, Elmer stayed around working various jobs. Sometimes, people praised this as industrious;  other times, they condemned it as lazy.

In Apex, Undine judged people’s worth based on how good they were at getting what they wanted. Despite that, she found herself most interested in Elmer at one of his greatest moments of failure, shortly after he caused another minor scandal by being spotted one Sunday morning with a young woman who was “less known” to the churches than to “the saloons of North Fifth Street.” Undine ran into Elmer on Main Street, and he invited her to take a walk. Although she didn’t approve of Elmer’s actions, she liked being independent and doing something that would make the other people in Apex mad.

On the day of their walk in Apex, Elmer told Undine that he was down on his luck. Undine said that based on his behavior after the Temperance function, it seemed like he was down by his own choice. Elmer then told her that the only reason he was sticking around in a small place like Apex was because of her. Undine got angry at first, but suddenly they were kissing, and Undine entered one of the brightest periods of her life. She snaps back to the present in Paris and realizes that Elmer is still within reach.