Dunham and Mrs. Tremaine. He is in the process of drawing her third portrait. Mr. Dunham 's mentioning of his wife 's overall pessimism and irritability turns into a conversation about love, marriage, men, women and living in “sin.” Mr. Dunham confesses to Mrs. Tremaine that her arrival made him happy again. At the same time, Mrs.Tremaine receives a letter that notifies her about a new job – she is signed on to sing for a private house in the capital. Therefore, she informs Mr. Dunham about her inability to pose for him anymore, due to a lack of time. Realizing that their time together is coming to an end, Mr. Dunham asks Mrs. Tremaine to sit in a chair, which he calls a “throne,” and listen to a poem, titled “To a beautiful woman,” written by him and dedicated to her. After Mr. Dunham is done reciting his poetry, he reveals his true feelings for Mrs. Tremaine; he is in love with her. At first, Mrs. Tremaine denies she feels the same way towards Mr. Dunham, calling him just a friend, but he convinces her to open up and not be afraid of her true feelings. At last Mrs. Tremaine admits she loves him too. Mrs. Dunham walks into the room while her husband is kissing her friend. The situation escalates; and after blaming herself for being vain and selfish, Mrs. Tremaine leaves. The spouses argue; Mrs. Dunham blames her husband for being dishonest, and for playing tricks behind her back. She is disappointed that Mr. Dunham never learned how to love …show more content…
Dunham finds his wife in his studio, lying on the sofa with her face buried in her hands. He inquires about their daughter. Soon enough, the father discovers that Undine has escaped, by using a skipping rope. By questioning his wife about the reason behind Undine 's running away, Mrs. Dunham confesses that she beat her up since her daughter disobeyed her. While Mr. Dunham is getting ready to go and look for Undine, Fitzgerald arrives into the studio. He brings good news; he has found Undine and brought her back home. The parents are shocked to hear that their daughter ran away with the intention of drowning herself in the Theme River. The explanation behind Undine 's actions is even more disappointing; the reason behind her escape was that Mrs. Dunham 's promised to kill her. The mother feels guilty; she admits she was wrong, she was just too angry with Undine. After the young girl accepts Mrs. Dunham 's apology, Undine forgives her mother. Mrs. Dunham is left alone; she is overwhelmed with the sequence of terrible events in her life. Hence, Mrs. Dunham decides to commit suicide. After finding a poison, she sends a note to Mrs. Tremaine. Mrs. Dunham debates what to do; she is torn between killing herself and staying alive, but, at last, she drinks it. When Mr. Dunham and Mrs. Tremaine walk in, they are discussing the difficulty of the situation they all ended up in. In regards to Mr. Dunham’s decision to stay with his wife, Mrs. Tremaine