After his second summer in Balbec, where he had reencountered Albertine and had come to the realization that marrying her seemed foolish, yet shortly thereafter decided that it was absolutely necessary to marry Albertine, Marcel is back in Paris. He accommodates Albertine at his place while his parents are still away and Françoise continues to manage the household as usual, in order to better protect her from her dark impulses. Their cohabitation is partly light-hearted and erotic, as seen in the suggestive passage about Parisian merchants' calls, and partly intellectually demanding, as in the discussions about recent European literature; however, for the most part, it is characterized by the psychologically profound and tormenting inquiries of the narrator regarding Albertine's actions and choices.