The Marble Faun

Alone with Miriam, the model tells her to leave Rome with him, portending dire consequences if she refuses. Miriam asks him to leave her alone, but he insists that fate has united them inseparably: “We are bound together, and can never part again” (70). They walk to the city walls, where a crowd gathers.

Hilda meets Kenyon at the Pincian Hill. They notice Miriam standing in a piazza below and apparently kneeling to the model. Kenyon imagines that Miriam is somehow in thrall to the mysterious figure because of some sin she has committed.

Miriam pays a visit to Kenyon in his studio, where he shows her some of his sculptures, including one depicting Hilda’s hand. Miriam wishes Kenyon success in winning Hilda’s love, but Kenyon expresses doubt that he will ever overcome her reserve.