43 pages • 1 hour read
Audrey NiffeneggerThe Time Traveler's Wife
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2003A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 1, Chapters 1-7 Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1: “The Man Out of Time”
Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary: “First Date, One”
It is 1991. Henry is 28 and Clare is 20. Henry is working as a librarian in Chicago. Though Clare recognizes him at the library, Henry does not know her.
They go on a date. Clare reveals that she knows Henry from her past; he has the ability to travel in time and has visited her many times during her childhood. For Henry, this is the first time that he and Clare are meeting.
The couple spend the night together. When they wake up, Clare realizes that Henry has a girlfriend with whom he shares his apartment. Henry tries to pry from Clare things he has said to her in her past, but she does not divulge.
Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary: “A First Time for Everything”
It is 1968 and Henry’s fifth birthday. His parents, who are both musicians, take him to the Field Museum of Natural History. When the family returns, Henry has a hard time sleeping. His parents go to bed, and Henry has his first time travel experience. Child Henry is visited by the 24-year-old version of himself, and they visit the museum after business hours. After the experience, older Henry remembers being the younger Henry. His five-year-old self had revealed to his mother that he had time traveled, and his mom had laughed in a kindly patronizing way.
