Undine feels bored with her life in the Chelles country estate, especially during the cold winters. She wants to find an outlet for her anger about her confinement and the deteriorating conditions of her marriage. Undine discovers that she is most successful in aggravating Raymond by irritating his mother. The winters are cold, and Undine is tired of lacking heat. According to the family tradition, which has never been adjusted in generations, only a small amount of wood is to be used to build the fires that heat the home. To make the best of this small allotment, the family has taken up the custom of heating Raymond’s mother’s large bedroom and then having the rest of the members of the family spend the day in her room. Undine rebels against this practice. She refuses to be confined to her mother-in-law’s apartment when there is so much more space in other portions of the house. So Undine has fires built in the gallery, her favorite place. Due to the additional fires, the amount of wood that is used has more than doubled the standard. When complaints by the other family members are registered, Undine suggests that rather than everyone spending their daylight hours in her mother-in-law’s room, they should extinguish that fire and come downstairs. Upon hearing this, Raymond’s mother complies—at least partially. She ceases to order a fire in her room, but she remains there, by herself in the cold room, rather than give in to Undine’s suggestion.

As the boredom of Undine’s life continues, it is as if dullness penetrates her mind as well as her body. The shine of hair decreases, as does the radiance that had once been so attractive in her complexion. She is also easily irritated, turning her into someone who reminds her of her mother. Undine’s son is another source of annoyance. This is especially true during the winter while Raymond is more frequently missing from the home. When Paul develops a persistent cold, Undine considers sending her son away to school, though he is still very young. The only thing that prevents this, in the end, is the cost of tuition.

The only thing that keeps Undine’s spirit alive is the thought of going to Paris and spending money on dresses, which in the end she has very few opportunities to wear. Even this hope of a spring excursion is dashed, however, when Raymond announces that they will not be going to Paris this year because of some business that demands his attention. Upon hearing this, Undine can no longer hold her silence. She tells Raymond that she is going to Paris with or without him. She will use her own money if necessary, seeing that Raymond finds fixing up the old estate so much more important than allowing her a respite from the country. Undine goes so far as to assert that Raymond should sell the family estate because it costs so much money to maintain. In the least, he should sell the paintings and furnishings if he really is in dire need of money. Raymond’s only response to this outburst is to exclaim that Undine has no understanding of what the estate and its furnishings mean. Traditions and honor are of utmost importance to Raymond and his family. Selling the estate, in Raymond’s way of thinking, would be akin to abandoning his family.