Summary
Chapter 5
Peter looks forward to telling Sylvia about a recent court case. He already told her about Ivan's cancellation of their lunch meeting, much to Sylvia's amusement. They speculate about Ivan's new romantic interest. Peter has been taking care of Sylvia since she underwent an unspecified medical operation. They have grown close again during this time. Peter attends a gathering where Sylvia entertains her students. They each enjoy wielding their magnetic social presence, glowing and basking in the attention. Later that night, Peter and Sylvia discuss the possibilities (or lack thereof) of their relationship. Peter insinuates that their romantic relationship does not have to end simply because Sylvia physically cannot have penetrative sex. She, however, feels differently. If she cannot "do something properly," she refuses to do it all because it humiliates her. Peter tells Sylvia that though he and Naomi are not monogamous, he does not discuss Sylvia's medical condition or their past relationship with Naomi because it is not her business. Peter lays his hand on Sylvia's lower belly, which she finds pleasant. However, she refuses to be physically intimate with Peter because she wants him to remember her the way she was. This instills a terrible feeling inside Peter because it entails a complete lack of possibilities for their relationship. The earlier golden glow of their evening spoils.
The next morning, Peter contemplates the inevitability of the "brute force of his appetite" confronting "the fact of [Sylvia's] living body." The evening left them both feeling angry and humiliated. Peter charges his phone and finds texts from Naomi's housemate Janine with news that she, Naomi, and their other housemates have been evicted. Furthermore, Naomi was arrested. Peter remembers a letter concerning the eviction that Naomi asked him to read. He never did.
Chapter 6
Peter immediately goes to Kevin St. Station to free Naomi, who was taken into custody. He has mixed feelings about the situation: embarrassment, frustration, and guilt. The sight of Naomi sparks a protective fondness and rage for her sake against the system that evicted and imprisoned her. She has nowhere to go. He invites her to stay at his place in the meantime. Naomi infers that Peter spent the last few nights with Sylvia, but he refuses to divulge any further information. They exchange playful and sarcastic banter in relation to Naomi's eviction and reliance on Peter. He and Naomi have sex, and Peter supplies her with cash and the option to stay with him for the foreseeable future.
Chapter 7
As Ivan waits for Peter to arrive at the restaurant, he considers the way his views about women and feminism have changed since he began seeing Margaret. Ivan used to believe feminism was a campaign to be considered biologically more important than men, and that he should not have to give up a seat on public transportation for a pregnant woman to sit down. Peter would vehemently disagree with him, labeling these views as "fascist." Now, Ivan's views have evolved due to his relationship with Margaret, and he concedes that Peter was right about a number of things.
Ivan's anxieties about his financial insecurity, his lack of job prospects, and the manipulative texts his mother has been sending are all assuaged at the thought of spending time with Margaret. When Peter arrives, they briefly talk about the fact that Ivan is seeing someone before moving on to the topic of Peter's work. Ivan asks Peter about the ideals that motivate his work as a human rights lawyer. The brothers bond over their shared tension between earning a stable income and pursuing work that promotes social equity. The delicious food and wine further foster a sense of connection. Peter offers to lend Ivan money to pay his rent if Ivan does not get paid in time.
Peter poses the question of whether a normal woman of Margaret's age would want to have a relationship with a 22-year-old. The question triggers Ivan for multiple reasons. Not only does Ivan feel protective of Margaret, but he resents Peter for being so condescending. Ivan loses his cool and says that he has hated Peter his entire life. He storms out of the restaurant and decides to block Peter's number.
Chapter 8
Margaret picks Ivan up from the train station. They chat about the situation with Ivan's childhood dog, Alexei, who is currently in the reluctant care of Christine. Ivan and Margaret spontaneously decide to swim at the beach despite the cold. After their exhilarating swim, they kiss and head out to dinner, where they do not hide the fact that they lightly hold hands. Ivan later asks Margaret about her previous marriage. She explains that her relationship with her ex-husband deteriorated due to his alcoholism. They go on to talk about their notions of God, morality, and the ethics of their situation. They decide to keep seeing each other despite Margaret's doubts.
Ivan's friends speculate about his mysterious girlfriend. He refuses to divulge any information, instead enjoying the ebullient atmosphere as they watch sports and later play chess. On the bus ride home, Ivan reflects on the love he feels for Margaret.
Analysis
After Sylvia's unspecified medical procedure, Peter exhibits a degree of physical and emotional care that does not appear in other facets of his life, including his relationship with Naomi. He accompanied Sylvia to the hospital, stayed with her during her recovery, and brings her things she needs. Sylvia's operation serves as a narrative catalyst that reawakens Peter's capacity for care. However, their intimacy can be juxtaposed with his ambivalent feelings toward Naomi during this time, who he refers to as "the other" (Chapter 5). Sylvia’s pain during penetrative sex creates a barrier to physical and emotional fulfillment with Peter. To preserve her own dignity, she refuses such advances. All of this speaks to the theme of love and how duty, physical desire, and intellectual compatibility factor into Peter's concept of love.
Tenant buildings refer to any kind of property occupied by a person or entity who pays rent to the landlord in exchange for the right to live there under a tenancy agreement. Naomi and her friends squatted in a tenant building because they struggled financially and were in need of a place to live. This reflects themes of class stratification and power imbalances. Naomi rhetorically asks, "Is that legal?" in response to the way an officer dragged her up the stairs (Chapter 6). This shows the way that women without means or protection are more likely to face mistreatment at the hands of individuals and institutions. Naomi is aware of the mutability of the law when she points out that a court will likely decide years down the line that the eviction was illegal after all (Chapter 6). Though confident and self-assured, Naomi understands her vulnerability in the situation and her subsequent reliance on Peter.
The tension between moral responsibility and economic necessity is central to the Koubek brothers' personal struggles. Both Ivan and Peter wish to have careers that work toward building a more equitable world. However, they both acknowledge the fact that money is a huge motivating factor that often contrasts with their idealistic altruism. The brothers are surprised to connect over this struggle, having both weighed the need for financial stability against self-actualization. For the brothers, self-actualization is less of an individual enterprise than a communal one, seeing as they both wish to work toward a more just and fair society. Intermezzo is set after the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused the cost of living in Ireland to increase significantly. Of the two brothers, Peter is the most buffered against economic hardship. However, for all the characters in the novel, their experiences with love, ethics, and ambition are filtered through economic constraints.
Peter's reaction to the age difference between Ivan and Margaret is twofold. On the one hand, he genuinely expresses concern for his younger brother's well-being by asking why a "normal woman of her age would want to hang around" with a 22-year-old unemployed recent graduate (Chapter 7). However, Ivan takes great offense to this statement, particularly Peter's use of the word "normal." To Ivan, that word signifies "conformity with the dominant culture." In addition, Peter himself is sexually and financially involved with a woman ten years his junior. His protectiveness over Ivan suggests an awareness of how power dynamics related to age and experience can cause emotional harm. Since this section is not written in Peter's point of view, it is impossible to know whether he considers his own ties with Naomi as he questions Margaret's intentions in spending time with Ivan. If not, then his objection to Margaret's age is tinged with hypocrisy.
The need to be understood is part of a fundamental human drive for social connection and belonging. When Margaret reveals to Ivan her perspective on why her marriage failed, he validates her in a way that other people in her life did not. Though Margaret's friends and coworkers treated her with respect and kindness, their actions lacked the degree of understanding that Ivan shows her. Research has shown that "social disconnection is aversive and detrimental to mental and physical health," and that "not feeling understood degrades social relationships and personal well-being" (Morelli et al.). Margaret experienced this in the fallout of her separation from her ex-husband, Ricky. Close confidants such as her mother refused to take sides. As a result, Margaret was left feeling like the important people in her life didn't believe her or didn't truly want to know the extent of Ricky's alcoholism. Perhaps Margaret's experience with not feeling understood drives her doubt as to whether she and Ivan should continue seeing each other. Margaret fears that the social consequences could be devastating, but she cannot deny the depth of the bond she has with Ivan.
