Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses suicide.

Following the advice of a family friend, Philip goes to Heidelberg, Germany, where he will live in a boarding house run by the Erlin family and learn German. Philip is shy to meet the other residents who live at the house managed by Professor Erlin and his wife, Frau Erlin. The household also includes several young women, and Philip is aware that he has never spent time around girls before. He feels hopeful about the new life that he is beginning.

Philip continues his education by studying with private tutors. He learns mathematics from a man named Wharton, who drinks heavily and leads a bohemian life while studying at the local university. Wharton encourages Philip to stay longer in Germany since he thinks that Philip will learn more by experiencing life rather than studying at university. Philip also learns more about the young women living in his boarding house and their various romantic entanglements.

Philip studies German and becomes aware of innovations and debates in European culture, including plays written by Henrik Ibsen and operas composed by Richard Wagner.