The envelope contains some money, which he hopes she’ll use to buy herself some clothes-which is exactly what she does, going out to purchase a new dress and a nice coat. The next day, Anna receives a letter from Walter, who insists that he’s worried about her. When she finally comes out, he orders her a taxi and says goodbye. She gets her coat and shuts herself in the bedroom, lying down on the bed and waiting for him to come in, but he never does. When she expresses her surprise, Walter laughs. Eventually, though, he backs off and apologizes, at which point Anna opens a door she hadn’t noticed before.

Later, she tries to stop him from kissing her, but he doesn’t stop right away. She finds it difficult to connect with Walter, who makes a show of sending back a bottle of wine because it’s not to his satisfaction. He takes her to a strange restaurant where each dining party has its own private room. She tells Anna about a relationship she had with an older man named Viv, who gave her lots of money but ended up breaking her heart.Īnna goes out with Walter when she comes to London. Anna claims after he leaves that she doesn’t like him, but Maudie urges her to go out with him, since he has money. Before he leaves, they arrange to get together again when the theater tour passes through London. He buys stockings for her and then comes back to her and Maudie’s small room, where they have drinks and make awkward conversation. They meet two older men on the street who are obviously wealthy, and one of them- Walter-takes a liking to Anna, though she’s only 18. One day, she and her friend Maudie go shopping in a small town. Anna longs for the West Indies and often loses herself in childhood memories, fantasizing about her home’s sights, sounds, and smells-all of which seem vibrant and lively compared to life in England, which she finds bleak and monotonous. After her father died, her British stepmother, Hester, moved her to England, where she now works as a chorus girl in a traveling theater troupe.

Anna Morgan is a young white woman who was born and raised in the West Indies.

Voyage in the Dark by Jean Rhys