Journey to the End of the Night

The crypt houses a selection of mummified corpses. Grandma Henrouille is making a great deal of money by showing people around the crypt. She puts on quite a show, reveling in the grotesque nature of the display. Robinson, meanwhile, has little to do aside from griping. Nevertheless, as his sight returns, he complains that the old woman is taking too big a share of the profits and leaving too little for him. Bardamu is not impressed by Robinson’s attitude. Grandma Henrouille does not spend long grieving her son’s death. She lives with Madelon and Robinson in a small, dark annex. Madelon is keen to get married, but she begins an affair with Bardamu behind Robinson’s back. Bardamu insists that the pair had a tacit agreement, in which Robinson would have Madelon after marriage and he would have her in the present. Bardamu gets the idea to give Madelon advice about how to have an affair before he leaves, planning to teach her about condoms and encourage her to use them. He comes to realize how little he really knows Robinson.

As Bardamu is about to leave town, he agrees to stay for another week to see the countryside around Toulouse.