The Voyage Out

They all return to town, where Rachel and Hewet’s engagement is announced and celebrated. One evening, Hewet and Rachel are alone together, with Rachel trying to play the piano and Hewet trying to work on his novel. They debate which is more meaningful—music or words. They talk about the first time they met. Rachel is happy, but she’s highly aware of how distant Hewet is from her; they’re intimately involved, but she can’t read his thoughts or know the true center of his person. Hewet reads aloud from his novel. Hewet’s main character is a married man embroiled in an affair, but neither Hewet nor Rachel really know what marriage is like yet. They discuss what married life together might look like back home in England. Rachel is accustomed to the English countryside, but Hewet wants to live in London with all the excitement of a cosmopolitan city. When Rachel reflects on their future, it seems that she doesn’t know what she wants. Hewet accuses her of not being as in love with him as he is with her. Rachel doesn’t necessarily disagree; she loves Hewet and wants to be with him, but she wants a lot of other things out of life as well.