Part 1 — Chapter 2

Summary

• Edwin secures a room in a boardinghouse in Halifax, overlooking the harbour, and settles comfortably, despite initial plans to head west. He enjoys the lively scene of the harbour and people passing by his window.
• Edwin managed by renting a room from Mrs. Donnelly, a kind and good cook, Edwin develops a sense of community despite his solitude.
• Edwin enjoys simple things, such as watching the boats come and go, taking walks around the town, and even begins buying flowers and sketching them, finding a teacher, Laetitia Russell, to improve his skills.
• After six months at the boarding house, a man named Reginald arrives. Reginald is dynamic and adventurous, with plans to become a farmer out west. Edwin, although hesitant at first, decides to join him on his journey, partly inspired by Reginald's enthusiasm and partly due to a slight injury to his pride when Reginald questioned his inertia.
• The travel across prairies is initially interesting, then tedious, and eventually unsettling for Edwin.
• Upon arrival, they see Reginald’s newly bought farm, which exposes the reality of their new life. The farm is disappointing and the house seems haunted by the failure of its previous owner.
• Reginald attempts to keep a positive outlook, shrugging off the fact that the previous owner left out of failure. Edwin, however, is deeply unsettled and grows unsure of this new course of life.
• Despite the harsh circumstances of the farm, Edwin and Reginald manage to find some solace in each other's company, with Edwin daydreaming about a future where he can reap whatever he has sowed in his fields.