Tarr Summary

Tarr is set in early 20th century Paris, yet follows two non-French protagonists: the eponymous Englishman Frederick Tarr and the German Otto Kreisley: both are artists living a somewhat "borgeois bohemian" life. The novel begins in a cafe, with the former character espousing his views on the nature and purpose of art charged with Lewis's Vorticist principles. The reader is then introduced to Bertha, Tarr's girlfriend, and their messy relationship. She acts as an embodiment of contemporary cliches of Germans - and our protagonist is presented as wholly indifferent to her romantically. He attempts to break up with her, informing her that he has little interest in their relationship culminating in marriage. This prompts her to break down in tears.

The narrative then moves onto our second protagonist Otto Kriesler (another Germanic parody) as he struggles to make a living from his art, relying on the generosity of others and his skeptical father's allowance. He falls in love with an enigmatic German-Russian woman called Anastaysa who, mirroring Tarr's indifference to Bertha, is equally disinterested in Kriesler. It is here that a Polish character called Soltyk becomes a locus of Kriesler's hatred, as he suspects him of courting Anastaysa. In an attempt to woo and win over Anastaysa Kriesler attends a ball along with a group of her friends: the party becomes a collection of this bourgeois class that Lewis consistently parodies. At the dance Kriesler makes an embarrassment of himself, groping every woman he comes in contact with. It is at this ball that he meets Tarr's Bertha, and - in a reaction to her recent breakup - she coaxes Kriesler into kissing her, scandalizing her amongst her friends. On another occasion she offers to be a muse for one of Kriesler's paintings, which horrifically culminates in him raping her - their relationship is - understandably - complicated from this point onwards. Yet strangely it is after this event that Tarr develops an acquaintance with Kriesler, causing the latter to choose the former as his second for a duel with Soltyk. This duel results in the accidental murder of Soltyk, and the complete desolation of Kriesler's life. He runs away, then attempts to confess to the authorities at the French-German border who accuse him of espionage, and finally he commits while imprisoned.

We learn progressively throughout the novel that it is Tarr, not Soltyk, who has developed a real relationship with Anastaysa, and the two characters are shown to have a strong rapport on topics ranging from philosophy to literature to art. She is a complete foil to Bertha's character, and is a kind of New Woman figure. Together they engage in strong innuendo, an innuendo that extends to the very meals they eat - such as their climactic conversation about oysters. While they clearly connect on a deep level, Tarr frets over whether two such alike minds are compatible romantically, and so he ultimately weds Bertha instead. This marriage is provoked in part out of pity; to hide the fact that - as it is revealed - Bertha is impregnated with Kreisler's baby. He splits his time between the two women, visiting Anastaya at night. It is revealed in the coda that Tarr and Bertha eventually divorced and that he never married Anastaya. Instead it is revealed that he marries a - until this point un-introduced - character called Rose Fawcett, and it is then further hinted that he may have an affair with another unmentioned-until-this-point character called Prism Dirkes. This jarring ending epitomizes the revolutionary nature of this modernist novel.