England

England is a named destination in Leda’s departures from home, but the account gives no description of the place itself or of what she does there. Its significance lies in the movement attached to it: Leda leaves, returns, and leaves again as her ambitions and domestic life pull in opposing directions.

Place in Leda’s Trajectory

The reference comes amid a chain of developments that seems to confirm Leda’s belief in her own abilities. Her professor in Florence and Professor Hardy have come to recognize her work; against this background, she says that she left for England, returned, and left again. The passage does not specify when these journeys occurred, how long she stayed, or what took her there.

Departure and Domestic Conflict

The repeated journeys are followed by her husband’s alarm and protest that he cannot manage both work and the children. Leda tells him she is leaving him, presenting the decision as a need to understand herself and her possibilities. In retrospect, she acknowledges that this explanation concealed a more complicated reality: she felt intellectually energized and was drawn to men who affirmed her intelligence. England therefore enters the account as part of a period of departure, while the reasons and experiences connected specifically to the place remain unstated.