The Loved One

Aimée writes to Guru Brahmin again. She describes her mixed feelings about Dennis, who she says can be sweet and writes poetry but also has a cynical streak. She questions whether he’s ethical because he’s so secretive about his activities. In addition, she reveals that Mr. Joyboy has apparently withdrawn his offer to recommend her promotion to embalmer since “no more is said of that” (114) since she became engaged to Dennis. She complains that Dennis makes fun of Mr. Joyboy’s name and shows too much interest in her work.

In an attempt to mend her relationship with Mr. Joyboy, Aimée writes “try to understand” on a piece of paper with one of Dennis’s poems and leaves it on the heart of a corpse that Mr. Joyboy is about to work on. After this gesture, Mr. Joyboy appears to warm up to her again, telling her that he’d like to see more poems.

Mr. Joyboy tells Aimée that his mother’s parrot has just died. He’s arranging a funeral at the Happier Hunting Ground and invites Aimée to attend it. She accepts.