Bunzō has just lost his job for no apparent reason, startled because he considers himself to be more educated than the majority of the staff, while another colleague was fired for talking back to the supervisor.
When Bunzō finally finds the right moment to tell Omasa of his dismissal, she blames his pride and nonconformity as the reasons for this and points to the career-orientated Noboru as a positive example.
Omasa suggests to visit the chrysanthemum displays at Dangozaka[a] together the day after tomorrow and, after Noboru has left, tries to awaken Osei's interest in the successful young man.
Bunzō, treated disdainfully by both Omasa and Osei, considers moving out of his uncle's house and has even found a small apartment to rent, but can't bring himself to take final steps.
Noboru has started giving English lessons to his supervisor's wife and sister-in-law, and when he shows up for his now less frequent visits, he is more involved in discussing business affairs with Omasa than in speaking to Osei.
Osei tries to attract his attention with an increasingly childlike behaviour, but eventually loses interest in him and convinces her mother to pay her knitting lessons.
With his debut novel Ukigumo, Futabatei aimed at incorporating everyday, colloquial language and in-depth characterisation to achieve a greater realism, a result of lengthy discussions between him and critic Shōyō Tsubouchi who advocated a new Japanese literature.
[1] Although the influence of Ivan Goncharov's 1859 novel Oblomov on Ukigumo has been repeatedly pointed out by literary scholars,[4] translator Marleigh Grayer Ryan stressed out the many differences between the books: for instance, Futabatei's protagonist is a member of the lower class, not the aristocracy, does not feel any nostalgia for the old times, and is only temporarily inactive due to his current unemployment, not continuously by "self-induced pathological inertia" (Ryan).
[1] While Ukigumo was highly successful with critics and readers, Futabatei was unsatisfied with the result, feeling that he had fallen behind his intended goal and failed as a writer.