Tropic of Cancer Chapter 6 Summary

  • The narrator meets a Russian man named Serge, who lives outside of Paris in "a little colony of émigrés and run-down artists" (6.3).
  • Serge puts him up in exchange for English lessons, but the bed bugs in his mattress, the smell of germicide, the food, and the tapeworm are too much. He does a "bail without notice." See ya!
  • Back in Paris ("I'm free—that's the main thing…" [6.11]), Miller convinces an acquaintance named Peckover to loan him some francs.
  • He finds a concert ticket in the bathroom (lavabo), so decides to go enjoy a show.
  • While listening to the music, he muses on everything from his groin (no surprise there) to the legend of Leda.