Cloud Atlas

Content Warning: This section discusses death by suicide.

In the 12 days since Frobisher’s last letter, Ayrs has fallen sick. Frobisher has used this time to write “music of [his] own” (457). Frobisher visits a cemetery with Morty Dhondt to see the grave where Adrian, Frobisher’s brother, is supposedly buried. However, the World War I cemetery contains so many gravestones that they can’t locate Adrian’s grave. They leave roses on a different grave. Frobisher reflects on how his parents always seemed to love his brother more than him. Traveling back to Zedelghem, Dhondt hits a “monster pheasant” with his car. The bird isn’t quite dead, so Frobisher kills it to stop its suffering. The incident may have damaged the car, so they stop in a small town to find a mechanic. As they sit together in the town square, Dhondt speculates on his theory that greed will cause the end of civilization.

With Ayrs still sick, Frobisher has time to work on his own music. He’s writing Cloud Atlas Sextet. The next day, he argues with Ayrs because Ayrs continues to take all the credit for their collaborations. Jocasta comes to Frobisher after the argument, begging him to stay. Eva talks to Frobisher, revealing that Mademoiselle Van de Velde wants to introduce Frobisher to her daughters because he’s “a genuine English gentleman” (465). When he visits the Van de Velde household, the five daughters line up on the stairs and sing to him. They ask him many dull questions. Later, they go for a walk. When they reach the clock tower at the town center, only Eva and Frobisher are willing to climb it. After they reach the top, they have a romantic moment together. She admits her affection for “a certain young man” (469). They don’t act on these romantic urges, however, because a group of tourists arrives. When Frobisher returns to Zedelghem, Jocasta confronts him, threatening to “destroy” his reputation if he makes romantic advances toward Eva. Frobisher insists that he isn’t interested in Eva.

Sixsmith is delayed in responding to Frobisher, who has been speculating about how to end his relationship with Ayrs. In another letter, he writes in heartfelt terms about his longing for Eva. He doesn’t consider himself worthy of such a beautiful person. Yet another letter describes Frobisher’s big argument with Ayrs. Their relationship ended, and out of pettiness, Frobisher tries to mock Ayrs with regarding his affair with Jocasta. Ayrs knew about the affair for a long time; he even told Jocasta to seduce Frobisher so that he wouldn’t leave. Frobisher steals Ayrs’s “flaunted Luger” (476) and some bullets for the gun. He thinks about shooting Ayrs but doesn’t want to do anything that might upset Eva. He flees into town, telling the passing Mrs. Dhondt that he has been called away on an urgent matter. She drives him to Bruges, and he finds a hotel. After signing the letter, Frobisher adds that Sixsmith shouldn’t worry and adds that he found and stole the second part of Adam Ewing’s journals. He’s excited to read them.

Frobisher works relentlessly on Cloud Atlas Sextet. When he isn’t composing, he walks feverishly through Bruges, thinking about Eva. He has received no word from her, though he’s convinced that she’s as in love with him as he is with her. Frobisher pays an unexpected visit to the Van de Velde house. There, he meets Eva’s fiancé, Grigoire. He realizes that his impression of Eva was mistaken; she doesn’t love him. Frobisher fights Grigoire and is thrown out of the house. A week later, the police visit Frobisher to tell him that he’s no longer welcome in the town. Frobisher gives his “word as a gentleman” (486) that he’ll finish his composition and leave in a week. In his last letter, Frobisher describes how he’ll shoot himself in the head with Ayrs’s pistol. He insists that his action isn’t selfish, as it would be more selfish to ask him to continue with his “intolerable existence.” He has finished Cloud Atlas Sextet. He ends the letter by reiterating his belief in reincarnation, in some form, as “we do not stay dead long” (490).