This chapter explores the lifestyles of both Marijke and Martin. Again I feel it is simply to inform the reader of details that will be important later on.
Personally I feel badly for both characters. It must be hard for Martin to live with OCD and it's clear that it strains himself and his wife. But it also seems like their son Theo has no respect for his father's illness. Marijke tried to help but over time she couldn't stand the rules associated with Martin's OCD. I thought Martin's description of his illness was both fair and detailed. Even the style used to describe his compulsions reflects the patterned and specific way in which Martin must act.
At the end of the chapter we see that Martin is heartbroken about his wife leaving him and it seems to me like this will provoke further compulsions from Martin. He may believe that she left because he didn't do something correctly and he may try to make up for it by adding more steps to his routine.
I would guess that Marijke's letter to Robert asks him to look after Martin or to at least visit him and keep him company.
Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.
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