46 pages 1 hour read

Ian McEwan

Saturday

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2005

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Chapter 5

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 5 Summary

Henry bids his family goodbye, noting that they still have much to discuss. Rosalind follows him upstairs, knowing that it is Baxter who he is being called in to operate on, and asks him why he is going. He replies, “I have to see this through. I’m responsible” (245). She makes him tell her that he will not try to take revenge, and the two share a passionate kiss. They acknowledge Daisy’s pregnancy; Rosalind informs him that the baby’s father is an Italian boy Daisy met abroad and they have already made arrangements to move in together. Paternal instincts make Henry worry about his daughter’s future, so he pushes the topic from his mind and leaves for the hospital.

Once again Henry observes the city, the debris from the march, the sanitary teams at work. Upon arriving at the hospital, he feels some relief at the familiarity of his surroundings. He goes into the room where Baxter is already on the operating table, surrounded by Jay Strauss and his registrar, the nurse, the runner, and Rodney, one of Henry’s two consultants. While looking at Baxter’s scans, Henry confirms that he does show physical signs of having Huntington’s Disease.