Following his initial arrest and placement in a shared holding cell with other detainees, the narrator is moved to an isolated solitary cell where he eventually receives a single visit from Marie. During this crowded and noisy visiting session, Marie beams brightly, presses against the double wire mesh, and shouts encouraging words about his acquittal, marriage, and future beach outings. After Marie departs, the narrator transitions from free thoughts to the complete mindset of a prisoner, enduring the harsh removal of his personal belongings, belt, and cigarettes while adjusting to the profound isolation of his confinement.
To survive the long months of imprisonment, the narrator learns how to kill time through memory exercises by mentally cataloging every single piece of furniture, object, and physical detail inside his former bedroom until he can spend hours recalling them without error. He also sleeps up to eighteen hours a day and repeatedly reads a discarded, yellowed newspaper fragment about a tragic Czech traveler who was murdered for his money by his unrecognized mother and sister. Through these routines, the shifting light, and extensive sleep, the days blur together completely, leaving yesterday and tomorrow as the only meaningful terms.
Reflecting on his transformation during the quiet evening hours, the narrator inspects his own reflection in an iron basin and realizes he has spent months talking aloud to himself in solitude. This realization reinforces the inescapable reality of prison life and the profound desolation of the evening hours, echoing the notion that there is ultimately no exit from such profound isolation.