“There they stood, ranged along the hillsides, met
To view the last of me, a living frame
For one more picture! In a sheet of flame
I saw them and I knew them all.”—Robert Browning, “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came”
Welcome to A Read of the Dark Tower series. Join me each week as I, Constant Reader, tackle the magnum opus of Stephen King’s career for the first time. If you want to discuss in general terms or talk about these or preceding sections, join me by commenting here.
Last week, with Susannah off burying Eddie and Sheemie about to short-circuit, Roland, Jake and Oy transport to June 19, 1999, in an attempt to save the lazy author Stephen King and, thus, themselves and the Tower.
The Dark Tower, Part Three: In This Haze of Green and Gold; Chapter 1: Mrs. Tassenbaum Drives South, Section 1
Jake and Roland transport so quickly that Jake has to use his lightning-speed gunslinger hands to grab Oy by his fur to take the bumbler along. They land back in East Stoneham, near the general store, which doesn’t appear to have changed much since their 1977 visit. As they enter the store, Jake realizes he didn’t quite leave everything behind in their hurried departure—he still has the machine-pistol and his seemingly endless bag of Orizas.
What Constant Reader Learns: At least one thing has changed since 1977: there’s a sign in the window advertising worship services for the “1st Lovell-Stoneham Church of the Walk-Ins.” One has to wonder exactly who or what they’re worshipping, or if any walk-ins actually attend the Wednesday-evening “youth nights.”
Weren’t we told Jake was running out of Orizas when he used them on the guards in Thunderclap? Do they reproduce?
The Dark Tower, Part Three: In This Haze of Green and Gold; Chapter 1: Mrs. Tassenbaum Drives South, Section 2
The gabby storekeeper Wendell “Chip” McAvoy is still at the store, older but not too much changed. When Jake and Roland enter, he’s behind the deli counter slicing meat for Mrs. Tassenbaum, who’s on a rant about Al Gore claiming to have invented the Internet when it was actually Mr. Tassenbaum who has that distinction.
She’d moved on to how much hair product Mr. Gore used when the bell over the door jingled and they both look up. Chip freezes at the sight of Roland, the “man with the terrible blue eyes” still very much recognizable since That Day.
After a moment of paralysis, Chip turns to run but only gets three steps before a bullet whizzes past his head. He freezes and Roland says, “Turn around. The rest of you on the floor, but you turn around, shopkeeper. Turn around and see me. See me very well.”
What Constant Reader Learns: Ha. Since Mrs. Tassenbaum was “talky, meddlesome, good-looking, loaded with green, and a Republican,” Chip McAvoy feels perfectly justified in pressing thumb on the scale as he weighs her sliced turkey, getting a little extra for himself.
I love it when we get to see Roland going all gunslinger on hapless characters like Chip. Actually, anytime Roland enters our world it’s pretty funny.
The Dark Tower, Part Three: In This Haze of Green and Gold; Chapter 1: Mrs. Tassenbaum Drives South, Section 3
Chip finally turns to face Roland, and Ro notes that he looks the same as twenty years earlier, except his hair is white and he has the scar on his head from where Jack Andolini’s bullet grazed him.
Roland asks Chip if he has “a cartomobile, a truckomobile, or a tack-see,” which Jake pops up and translates as “What are you driving?” Chip reaches in his pocket so fast Roland almost shoots him and then is annoyed at the keys jingling in the man’s shaky hands.
It’s 3:50 p.m., which means Stephen King’s time is running out. Roland asks how far it is to Turtleback Lane. Chip is still too freaked to speak, but Mrs. Tassenbaum isn’t—she tells them it’s about five miles away. Roland asks Jake if he can drive and although Jake would like to say yes, it’s too important to guess, so he says no. Roland doesn’t think he can do it either, especially as the pain in his right hip grows worse.
So he hands the keys to Mrs. Tassembaum. “Are you going to kill me after you get to where you want to go?” she asks him? Roland answers: “Not unless you dawdle.”
They quickly jump in the truck (after Roland helps himself to a mouthful of turkey and gives some to Jake and Oy).
What Constant Reader Learns: A real laugh-out-loud moment as Jake quickly jumps in to interpret Roland’s transportation request.
Roland observes that this world is “full of clocks, as if the people who lived here thought that by having so many they could cage time.” We do try, don’t we?
So I did some reading to refresh the accident in my mind, and he was hit at 4:30 p.m.
The Dark Tower, Part Three: In This Haze of Green and Gold; Chapter 1: Mrs. Tassenbaum Drives South, Section 4
Chip’s truck turns out to be a stick shift with standard transmission, which Irene Tassenbaum hadn’t driven in years. So her first attempts to get out of the parking lot are jerky. As weird and scary as all this is, Irene realizes she’s actually enjoying herself. Roland tells her to calm down, and when she looks at him, she’s sharp enough to realize he is hypnotizing her—sounds are sweeter, and she can hear singing voices that calm her.
She finally gets the truck on the road and asks the question she’s been pondering: “Are you boys walk-ins?”
What Constant Reader Learns: I’m so enjoying this section. And Oy has been holding out on us. “Oy scrabbled for balance on Jake’s lap and sprayed out a mouthful of turkey along with a word he had learned from Eddie. Irene stared at the bumbler with wide, startled eyes. “Did that creature just say f*ck, young man?” Apparently so, since he says it again a few minutes later.
Has Roland’s hypnosis been this easy before? Just eye contact? And has it ever been accompanied by the song of the rose, or is this a new development?
The Dark Tower, Part Three: In This Haze of Green and Gold; Chapter 1: Mrs. Tassenbaum Drives South, Section 5
Bryan Smith has spent the last night in the local campground with his rottweilers Bullet and Pistol. He’s been hanging at the campground hoping to score some drugs—he’s a little buzzed already and got the munchies so he’s off in search of “Marses’ Bars.” He’s in a van, with meat in the cooler behind the driver’s seat, which he worries the dogs will want. The minivan pitches and weaves as he heads up a blind grade at fifty mph.
What Constant Reader Learns: How much of this Bryan Smith stuff is true? I found myself wondering this throughout the whole chapter. I know he had a long string of traffic violations and was charged with “driving to endanger.” He claimed he was distracted by his dogs, and died just over a year after the accident from a painkiller overdose. Guess I’m just conscious of the litigious nature of society, and Bryan Smith the character is definitely portrayed as simple and stupid and so utterly irresponsible that it seems like prime defamation of character charges. Maybe if one is dead one’s character can’t be defamed? Anyway, he compares Smith’s intelligence to that of Sheemie, who “could be Bryan Smith’s litter-twin.” Which, now that I think about, is quite an insult to Sheemie.
The Dark Tower, Part Three: In This Haze of Green and Gold; Chapter 1: Mrs. Tassenbaum Drives South, Section 6
Irene finally gets the hang of the truck, and is quite excited that she’s driving two walk-ins to Turtleback Lane. Roland notes that it has changed since the visit in 1977. He tells her they’re headed to the writer’s house, and Irene knows it’s Cara Laughs.
What Constant Reader Learns: Not much new here, except a reminder of how skilled sai King is at dragging out a scene for tension.
The Dark Tower, Part Three: In This Haze of Green and Gold; Chapter 1: Mrs. Tassenbaum Drives South, Section 7
Finally, they arrive at house number nineteen, and Roland notices the shocked, pale face of Jake. “He’s not here,” Jake says. “Not him, not any of his family.”
What Constant Reader Learns: Roland, who doesn’t have the touch nearly as strong as Jake, can tells the boy is holding something back but he doesn’t know what.
The Dark Tower, Part Three: In This Haze of Green and Gold; Chapter 1: Mrs. Tassenbaum Drives South, Section 8
Irene thinks Roland and Jake look upset; she’s mostly concerned about driving down the steep driveway in the stick shift.
What Constant Reader Learns: Irene also realizes the voices in her head are growing more high-pitched and frantic, probably as Roland grows more unsettled….or as time grows shorter.
The Dark Tower, Part Three: In This Haze of Green and Gold; Chapter 1: Mrs. Tassenbaum Drives South, Section 9
The “bondservant” cutting Stephen King’s grass tells them that the King family is across the lake for a part, and that Steve is taking a walk first.
What Constant Reader Learns: The “bondservant” offers to drive them along the route where Stephen King takes his walks, but Roland believes ka put Irene in their path, so he decides to stick with her. I’m sure, given the difficulty of a novice stick-shift driver climbing a steep driveway, she probably wished he’d chosen otherwise…except she is having fun.
The Dark Tower, Part Three: In This Haze of Green and Gold; Chapter 1: Mrs. Tassenbaum Drives South, Section 10
Jake has his eyes closed, concentrating. Irene thinks he has fainted at first, but then he says, “I have him. Not Stephen King but the other one. I have to slow him down. How can I slow him down?” Irene thinks of what always slows her down. “Too bad he doesn’t need to go to the bathroom,” she says.
What Constant Reader Learns: So, can Jake touch Bryan Smith well enough to put a bladder urge in his mind?
The Dark Tower, Part Three: In This Haze of Green and Gold; Chapter 1: Mrs. Tassenbaum Drives South, Section 11
Now we switch to Justine Anderson and Elvira Toothaker, who also are taking a walk along Route 7 with plastic buckets for raspberries. They have a close encounter with Bryan Smith in his minivan, who almost mows them down but swerves in the other lane and misses them. “Gosh, I hope Stephen King sees that asshole,” Elvira says.
A few yards down the road, the minivan jerks to a stop and the driver, using a cane, stumbles out and into the bushes, leaving the van running. Elvira guesses he’s gone to take a leak.
What Constant Reader Learns: Again, there were a couple of women who reported seeing Stephen King walking and also the weaving van, and testified that they recalled thinking they hoped the writer saw the van. How much of the detail here—the women’s backgrounds—is embellished and how much is real? I find this process of blending fiction and fact fascinating. I know when I did it using Hurricane Katrina as a backdrop for one of my books, I stuck very, very close to the real events but I was using fictional characters in a real setting. Using a blend of real and fictional characters—where the author is one of the characters—is….fascinating. And a bit brilliant.
Guess Jake sent that “gotta go” urge.
The Dark Tower, Part Three: In This Haze of Green and Gold; Chapter 1: Mrs. Tassenbaum Drives South, Section 12
While Roland waits for the gardener to give Irene directions, he watches Jake, who looks “unutterably weary.”
Jake tells him they have to hurry. “We’re awfully late,” he says. “This is bad.”
Irene assures them she knows where to go.
What Constant Reader Learns: The gardener “bondservant,” as Roland prepares to leave, raises his fist to his forehead and saluted the gunslinger. “Why would he not?” we’re told. “The stranger was surrounded by white light.”
Again, Roland seems to be channeling the rose or something like it in a way we haven’t seen before that I can recall. Maybe because he’s in Keystone World?
The Dark Tower, Part Three: In This Haze of Green and Gold; Chapter 1: Mrs. Tassenbaum Drives South, Section 13
As Roland is getting back into the truck, his hand touches Jake’s leg and he suddenly knows what Jake had been hiding, and why. It was not “ka-shume” exactly, because the ka-tet had already been broken. “Now they were just three friends (four, counting the bumbler) united by a single purpose…They could save the writer and come a step closer to saving the Tower by doing so. But one of them was going to die doing it.”
What Constant Reader Learns: Holy crap. No. Just no.
The Dark Tower, Part Three: In This Haze of Green and Gold; Chapter 1: Mrs. Tassenbaum Drives South, Section 14
Roland digests his new knowledge and realizes how much he has changed. All those years he chased the Tower, he couldn’t imagine anything being more important to him. But that’s no longer true. “Now he had a son and he had been given a second chance and he had changed. Knowing that one of them must die in order to save the writer…would not make him cry off. But he would make sure that Roland of Gilead, not Jake of New York, provided the sacrifice this time.”
What Constant Reader Learns: Okay, butter a biscuit and call me a girl, but this makes me want to cry. (Yeah, I’m from the South, we say crap like that.) Because we know damn well Roland isn’t going to die with 48 percent (according to my reader) remaining in the book and Eddie already gone. I love Oy dearly, but I hope it’s him and not Jake. And not both, although what one would do without the other, I can’t imagine.
The Dark Tower, Part Three: In This Haze of Green and Gold; Chapter 1: Mrs. Tassenbaum Drives South, Section 15
Bryan Smith thinks it’s weird that he needed to piss so badly and then could barely go. But now that he’s back in the car, he needs to fix the Styrofoam cooler behind his seat before his dogs get to it and eat his hamburger meat. He cranks up his music and drives on, mostly looking behind him rather than at the road.
What Constant Reader Learns: Again, we’re hit with lots of comments about the stupidity of the hapless Bryan Smith, “the sort of person who cannot fix the radio without looking at it.” Then again, if you’re writing about the careless, thoughtless dude who almost killed you, turning him into a three-dimensional character might not be possible.
The Dark Tower, Part Three: In This Haze of Green and Gold; Chapter 1: Mrs. Tassenbaum Drives South, Section 16
Since Roland had met Stephen King before, he is able to touch his mind—something Jake hadn’t been able to do. He can’t change his direction, but he knows what he’s thinking. “When he’s alone, he hears the Song of the Turtle and knows that he has a job to do,” Roland thinks. “One he’s shirking. Well, my friend, that ends today.”
Irene is burning rubber to get there in time, once taking the truck airborne when cresting a hill at high speed. She enjoys it thoroughly.
What Constant Reader Learns: Irene Tassenbaum is a fun character. She might be married to the man who invented the Internet (and who is not Al Gore), but this is the best thing that’s ever happened to her.
The Dark Tower, Part Three: In This Haze of Green and Gold; Chapter 1: Mrs. Tassenbaum Drives South, Section 17
Stephen King is walking along his usual route and has to make a decision—go the long way or take the shortcut home? If he takes the short route, maybe, he could get home before going to the party. Maybe write. Maybe start the next Dark Tower story. But he doesn’t want to write the Dark Tower story, even though it’s nagging at him—it means “swimming in deep water” He’ll have to listen to what he thinks of as the Ves’-Ka Gan, the Song of the Turtle. He’ll have to fight with his editor to put in “unpronounceable words in some made-up language.”
“No,” he says to himself. “I’m gonna walk, and then I’m gonna party. No more writing today. Especially not that.”
And so he walks on, unaware of what’s to come. Unaware of the Dodge Caravan barreling toward him on the shoulder of the road. Unaware of the pickup truck racing up behind him.
What Constant Reader Learns: Nice, this: “The ka of the rational world wants him dead; that of the Prim wants him alive, and singing his song. So it is that on this sunny afternoon in western Maine, the irresistible force rushes toward the immovable object, and for the first time since the Prim receded, all worlds and all existence turn toward the Dark Tower which stands at the far end of Can’-Ka No Rey, which is to say the Red Fields of None. Even the Crimson King ceases his angry screaming. For it is the Dark Tower that will decide.”
The Dark Tower, Part Three: In This Haze of Green and Gold; Chapter 1: Mrs. Tassenbaum Drives South, Section 18
Bryan Smith is barreling along, about to crest the blind hill, when he hears the scrape of the cooler’s lid. In the rearview mirror, he sees Bullet the Rottweiler with his head in the cooler, munching on Bryan’s hamburger meat. “At this point any reasonable driver would pull over to the side of the road, stop his vehicle, and take care of his wayward animal,” King writes. “Bryan Smith, however, has never gotten high marks for reason when behind the wheel, and has the driving record to prove it.” Instead, he twists around to try to push the dog away from the cooler. At the same time, he presses the accelerator, and does not see the man in his path, nor the pickup truck that has stopped behind the man, or the “lanky cowboy type who leaps out, thus dropping his gun.”
What Constant Reader Learns: Roland dropped his gun???? WTH?
The Dark Tower, Part Three: In This Haze of Green and Gold; Chapter 1: Mrs. Tassenbaum Drives South, Section 19
Irene is sure-footed as she lurches the truck to a stop behind Stephen King. And there we hang: “The door popped open and the one named Roland half-rolled, half-jumped out of the truck. After that, things happened very, very fast.”
What Constant Reader Learns: It’s killing me.
And…that’s it for this week! Next week—same time, same place—we’ll continue our read of the final book of the Dark Tower saga.
Oh Suzanne! You did not just do that to us!
!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!
OMG!! HOW CAN YOU STOP HERE!!!
(koff-blush-koff) Sorry for raising my voice, just that I remember this part very clearly, been biting my nails the whole time and then BOOM!! cliffhanger.
Having read On Writing one of the things King thinks about Smith is that he’s a character from his books. So what we are seeing here is King’s best presentation of the actual guy, IMO(and him making him an ACTUAL characters in his books!). He did say things like “Marses Bars” and his one rottweiler got into the hamburger meat which is what distracted him.
And you are terrible for stopping here.
Also, yes Irene is the best, although it miffs me a bit that this great character also bought into all the Bush v Gore bullshit. She seems sharper than that.
I too would like to know how much of Bryan Smith is real and how much is fictionalized.
Irene is a fantastic dan-tete, much more fun than John Callum. I also feel like there is a deliberate echo/call back to “Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut.”
As for everything else, Oh My.
I love this whole section, one of the best written chapters in the whole series. From Oy’s barking saying “thanks” and “don’t do that again”, to his multiple “f-ck”s (shocking Irene Tassenbaum), to Roland’s ridiculous attempts at English, to Bryan Smith’s thoughts ( “Marses’ bars are wicked good”), to the thoughts on time and how it’s racing, the scene with the 2 old ladies on the road, the thoughts of Sai King’s “bondservant”….all great! The pacing is very well done, and so full of suspense.
I too wondered about the degree of truth that King used for his fictional account of his accident. After you’ve read the next section, Suzanne, we can discuss more about that…
I took the visions that Irene sees, and the light that the gardener saw around Roland, to be effects of the Beam and the Tower, now that the beam has been saved and is regenerating. The Beam is strong enough now that the ka-tet has destroyed the Breakers, and it’s starting to protect itself and Steven King.
…”But he would make sure that Roland of Gilead, not Jake of New York, provided the sacrifice this time.” Ah, redemption, how much water under the bridge have passed since Tull, Jake’s death on book 1 and many other things. Hile, gunslinger :)
I just want to say I’ve been reading this since you started, but this is the first time I’m posting.
It’s been a hell of a ride, and as with the others I’m impressed and a little scared that you were able to stop here.
I’ll also say that just reading your recap of this particular portion of the book is stirring up far more emotion within me than I expected.
Thank you for letting me re-experience these books through fresh eyes.
Great comments! Only fear of missing my own book deadline got me to stop reading at that stage–that and another type of fear, because I’m afraid to know what happens. I know it’s going to be painful. I still haven’t recovered from losing Eddie. But I start the next chapter tonight.
Oh boy. Be warned…the next chapter is rough. I really admire your willpower; I raced through this section of the book at top speed. I’m not sure ANYTHING, including one of Roland’s guns held to my head, could have gotten me to stop reading at the end of this chapter.
@Donk: I did not find her “whorish” at all. If you recall from the book, her husband was neglectful and I think there was an implication he was having an affair.
BUT, and far more IMPORTANTLY, she was having an adventure. I felt like this was like King’s wish-fulfillment for the readers; who, given the choice, wouldn’t choose to step into Roland’s world for a short time? SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
Even when she slept with Roland, she felt like it was being in a dream, not sleeping with a living man. And, if I am recalling correctly, she and her husband might be important to the Tet Corporation.
I agree with Suzanne’s comparison with “Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut;” her presence is that of an otherwise ordinary person deliberately choosing an extraordinary experience. And remember: in “Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut,” the main female character chooses to stay in that altered reality. Irene chooses to have her adventure and come back to her husband, which, to me, does NOT make her a “whore.” If we’re going to throw around offensive terms like that, we might as well label Susannah that way for not being legally married (in the U.S.) to Eddie Dean, or condemn Susan for sleeping with Roland while she is the mayor’s gilly. *sarcasm*
I don’t think using pejorative terms for the female characters is appropriate or helpful. Why not call Roland a “man-slut” instead? (PS: I DO NOT support doing that either!)
@10 Comment unpublished: please tone down the pejorative language, since we want to keep the conversation respectful for everyone who’s participating. Thank you!
@11 I might call Roland a man-slut, just because it’s kinda hilarious, except for the fact that I think he’s been living for a thousand years since Meijis celibately. If anyone really needed to let off some steam, it was Ro. Maybe he should have gone for some sim sex with Marylin Monroe…
I agree that Donk’s statements were inappropriate, not to mention spoilerish at this point in the read.
@13, There were other women. He talks about a dance once. And if you read The Little Sisters of Eluria, there’s a woman there too. He never loved anyone like he did Susan after Mejis, but he wasn’t celibate
I just finished this book a couple weeks ago and have been devouring these posts. It’s fun to re-experience it and see where we agree/disagree. Personally, I love the way King plays with his characters to surprise us. Irene is a perfect example. She starts off being almost a caricature of a boorish right-winger, so I expected him to demonize her. Uncovering her depth and badassness is, therefore, much more powerful. King doesn’t just write people he agrees with; he just writes people. Whether he’s in Mother Abigail’s head or Eddie Dean’s, he always gives them the respect they deserve so they come across as true to themselves. There are very few cardboard cut-outs in sai King’s work.
I’m also a big fan of the way he wrote himself in. Too many writers have knee-jerked at the meta-ness of it. But it’s done so well that it’s brilliant. I love the honesty of his portrayal. He knows that being given the gift of writing comes with the responsibility to use it and treats his reticence toward the series, therefore, as a morally bad thing. His characters having to slap him around a bit works without being gimmicky because he made the whole thing so genuine.
Re: Bryan Smith, I read the whole thing thinking, “No WAY he’s talking like this. How in the world does he get away with it?” But thinking it with a big smile. As someone else said, in On Writing he lets his feelings about the man be known, but this is way over the top. I have no idea how he got away with it (maybe part of a legal settlement or something? “I won’t take you for everything you’re worth, but I’m going to make you look like an idiot and you can’t say squat. Deal?”) If it wasn’t real, I’d roll my eyes at his sketch of Mr. Smith. But the real-ness makes it intriguing and hilarious.
The woman was married; sorry, but I don’t find adultery to be an acceptable or admirable trait just because the person committing it is on an “adventure.” I’m curious how many of you would be okay with their significant others having sex with another person while they were on a really awesome road trip, because hey, it’s not cheating if it’s during an adventure. I will admit that I don’t remember reading about her husband also having an affair; if that’s true, then Irene’s actions aren’t nearly as bad.
What Roland does or doesn’t do is fine; he isn’t married. This isn’t a judgement on people having sex, or even people having sex with lots of other people. This is a judgement on breaking vows and hurting others.
^What are your thoughts on spoiling parts of the book that haven’t come up yet?
I’m curious how many of you would be okay with their significant others having sex with another person
raises hands
SPOILER
Look, she’s a fictional character, you can get angry if you want. But the harm her actions do is minimal in her world, she returns to her life with a new zeal and appreciation for life. Vows and promises can be good things, but why are the considered more important than an individuals own desire for fulfillment and happiness. Lifetime fidelity also tends to be a thing fraught with problems for a substantial portion of the population, and, sometimes, relationships just end while the people involved continue coasting along on inertia, until the realization that it IS over hits, sometimes in the form of another person.
END SPOILER
None of these are things worthy of nasty degrading language you are using. And even if they were, you weren’t the person affected by what Irene did.
It is interesting to think about Irene returning to married life after this. Her husband isn’t having an affair, he’s “married to his job” and the two of them seem to have settled into a middle aged “roommate” relationship rather than the hot and heavy romantic/sexual relationship of youth. Plus, given her husband’s job associations, who might not be cool with the idea of his wife visiting the HQ of the Tet corporation.
As to your comment about defamation — in the US, at least, libel is foreclosed by death, because the dead don’t have any use for their reputation. Speaking ill of the dead might be rude but it’s not illegal. You have to be careful not to say anything that constitutes defamation against the person’s still-living relatives or associates, though.
As far as King’s treatment of Smith, I’m a little bothered by it. It just feels petty and a little cruel, especially since Smith isn’t alive to defend himself.
MILD SPOILERS (IRENE)
@Donk, I’m not a fan of cheating in real life and absolutely do not take it (or infidelity) lightly. SPOILERS (TEXT WHITED OUT BELOW)
But things happen that nobody expects. From what we learn about Irene, she is depressed, disengaged, she doesn’t feel her husband loves her and she is questioning the meaning of her life. It’s heavily implied that she has arguments about small, silly things (whether or not Al Gore invented the Internet, etc.) because her life itself has become small and petty.
Her adventure with Roland is a one-time, extraordinary occurrence that’s basically four days away from her normal life. Yes, she sleeps with someone who’s not her husband — someone who reawakens her sense of adventure and who may also have a supernatural allure as well.
But it’s a limited interlude, certainly not an actual affair. It comforts Roland (and Irene), I’d argue does NOT harm her or her husband, and in fact (it’s implied) strengthens her marriage and reaffirms and reawakens her sense of life, purpose and joy.
If I were Irene’s spouse, I’d never want to know (ideally) but if I did know, I’d forgive her for an isolated event in an extraordinary situation. Again, the irony is that it’s heavily implied that Roland may have actually saved Irene’s marriage, not doomed it.
It’s not as simple as “infidelity is evil” and “cheaters are whores.” People are complicated.