In this chapter, we learn that the doctor has been keeping his wife in the cellar for so long that she is no longer able to communicate with him. The doctor tells us that he is confident that he can win over the old man, but that he must surrender if he wants to continue. He tells the audience that he has been on call all the time, and that he knows the medicine. He says that the woman inside the cellar is somewhat competent, but she has been kept there for such a long time that he doesn't understand why the doctor keeps her there. He asks the audience what purpose it serves to torture her, and the doctor replies that love entails companionship. He also says that he took care of the woman when she was ill, and he painted pictures of the sun to show her inside the house when she couldn't take a bath. He even fed her herself three times daily. He adds that he did not love the woman, and she is only his friend. He accuses the doctor of being cruel to her when he brought her back from the dead, and asks what sort of wickedness she committed in her former life to earn his favor in this