43 pages • 1 hour read
Audrey NiffeneggerThe Time Traveler's Wife
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2003A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 3, “A Treatise on Longing”
Part 3, Chapter 44 Summary: “Dissolution”
It is little over a month after Henry’s death. Clare is having difficulty coming to terms with her grief. She stumbles upon a letter written by Henry. He pleads with her to carry on with her life; he does not want her to suffer as Richard did after Annette died. He reveals that he visits her in the future when she is an old woman.
Part 3, Chapter 45 Summary: “Dasein”
Alba has gone out with Charisse and her kids. Clare arrives at Charisse and Gomez’s home and Gomez answers the door with just a towel on. After a few exchanges, Gomez and Clare have a sexual encounter; it ends when Clare calls out Henry’s name just as they hear Charisse’s car.
Later in the chapter, the narrative tracks back to 1990. Henry and Ingrid see a little girl. It appears they have seen her before. Henry at that time does not realize that he is being visited by his daughter, Alba, from a future period of time. Later, Henry and Alba meet in 1979 as both are time traveling. Alba asks Henry why he never visits Clare in the future, a question for which he has no answer.
Part 3, Chapter 46 Summary: “Renascence”
Clare discusses her attempts at returning to her art. She sketches a portrait of herself and pokes holes in the portrait.
Part 3, Chapter 47 Summary: “Always Again”
The year is 2053, and Clare is 82 years old. The chapter begins from Henry’s point of view. He is 43, not much long before he dies. At first he does not recognize Clare, but when he does, he embraces her.
Clare narrates the second part of the chapter. She describes her heightened state of anticipation over seeing Henry again. She does not know when she will see him, only that she will. Her narrative in this chapter precedes Henry’s arrival.
Part 3 Analysis
The third part of the novel follows the nonlinear narrative of the preceding two parts. Clare tries to come to terms with Henry’s death, manage her grief, and get on with life. Henry’s parting words that he sees Clare in the future, but not exactly when, keeps her in a continual state of anticipation. In this way, Henry has kept Clare in limbo. Though he didn’t want her to suffer like his father, she is in a similar state of stasis. She says— “sometimes I wake up and reach for Henry” (517). In the final chapter, when she is 82, she expresses a similar sentiment: “Today is not much different from all the other days. I get up at dawn […] and sit looking at the lake, wondering if he will come today” (537). The knowledge that she will see Henry again keeps her in a permanent state of waiting. She is unable to move on from his death, and is constantly on the lookout for his reappearance.
Her sexual encounter with Gomez represents her inability to move on. Almost immediately, Clare finds herself recalling memories of Henry. She even calls out Henry’s name, much to Gomez’s dismay. Although Clare lives physically in the present, she is mentally absent. She either lives in the past or in the future, anticipating when she will see Henry.
Clare’s self-portrait represents her attempt at regaining her former identity. “Renascence,” the chapter this takes place in, suggests that Clare is undergoing some kind of rebirth. When she pokes holes in the portrait, she has new insight. She realizes that the portrait is static and will remain the same while she “ is vanishing.” Since she was a child, Clare’s identity has almost entirely been in relation to Henry. As time goes by, she realizes that her former self is no longer; with Henry gone, she must grow into someone else.
In spite of her realization, Clare remains defined by her relationship with Henry. The knowledge that she will see him again stunts her ability to grow into what she may have been.
