Freedom

Franzen breaks the anticipated chapter sequence by returning to Part 2 and providing a coda to Patty’s autobiography. Franzen writes Part 2, Chapter 4 from Patty’s point of view, as a letter that she pens to Walter six years after they separated. Patty explains that when she and Walter split up, she considered suicide before going to stay with Richard. She was angry with Walter, even though she knew she hurt him irreparably. Both she and Richard knew that their relationship would not last.

Patty stays with Richard for three months after Lalitha’s death. She is aware that his renewed interest in music and staying out late at night coincides with her arrival. She compares her leaving Richard to the U.S. getting out of Vietnam. The entire time that she is with Richard, she thinks about Walter. When she sees the footage of his angry speech, she wonders if she had been a setback for him. Perhaps she held back his most passionate side. 

Next, Patty stays in Wisconsin with her friend Cathy and becomes a babysitter for the twins of Cathy’s partner, Donna. The twins are named Natasha and Selena. Patty goes home when her father Ray gets cancer.