Sarah M (p173-174)

I have chosen a passage which starts “Patrick steps out of the Verral Avenue rooms…” on p173 and ends with “…flung into his hands and neck in retaliation” on p174. I have chosen this particular passage because I think it is a useful starting point in looking at both the structure and style of the novel. The narrative voice, as well as the way in which the narrative is constructed gives us a feeling of intimacy with the character of Patrick. Rather than a simple linear narrative, our knowledge is pieced together through an exploration of character and Patrick’s memories. The way in which these memories assume prior knowledge that we may not have, and also regularly jump back and forward in time contributes to an effective reflection upon storytelling and the selection involved in the recollection of personal memory.

At the start of this passage, the image, “the landscape slurs into darkness” can be seen as a reflection of Patrick’s mental state. We are then presented with the paradoxical statement, “his mind locks, thinking of nothing, not even the death of Alice”. Being admitted into Patrick’s thoughts allows us to judge this as self delusion. As the passage progresses, our feelings are confirmed that the death of Alice is in fact the only thing that Patrick can think about. The line, “He can think now only of objects” shows Patrick’s desperate desire to divert his thoughts into abstraction. “Something alive, just one small grey bird on a branch, will break his heart” shows how memories can be built or recalled through association. It is interesting that Patrick is said to breathe out “a dead name”. It is an acceptance of the finality of death, but also an attempt to dissociate that death with Alice as a person. “Only a dead name is permanent”, is quite a loaded phrase. It brings up ideas of the construction of memory as it suggests that while Alice’s name is fixed, death cannot bring permanence to her personality. In a way, Alice will now exist only in the memory and stories of others and each representation will vary.

This passage also incorporates an important theme of the novel, that of class structure. The “regatta crowd” are presented as “jubilant” and “drunk”, in contrast to the porter who tirelessly carries out his work and the stewards who “speak quietly”. It is also the stewards who are referred to as, “Civilization now, on this August night” rather than the rich “regatta crowd”. The treatment of the working classes is loaded with emotion in the line, “Alice had an idea, a cause in her eye about wealth and power, forever and ever”. This provides a motive for Patrick’s actions, creates a feeling of bitterness in the lines that follow and also gives an eerie understanding when we learn the details of Alice’s death and how Patrick looked into her eyes as she died. These lines that follow about the situation in which Alice dies are a good example of how the structure of the novel functions. While we are given insight into Patrick’s thoughts, they are only snapshots which are not given full clarity until the end of the novel when we learn the exact nature of Alice’s death. The images we are given heighten the sorrowful tone of the passage and again reflect the nature of recalled memory. For Patrick, just thinking of Alice’s eyes brings back his feelings in all their intensity. Like the landscape he sees from the train, slurring into darkness, the other details of the event slur into darkness as he focuses on the memory of her eyes.

Other themes and images that are found throughout the novel are also subtly included throughout the passage. The use of the phrase, “no-man’s land” evokes images of death and destruction. We have already encountered death in the building of both the bridge and tunnel and the concept of destruction anticipates what could be seen as Patrick’s crimes of passion. The concept of a piece of land in which no one group really belongs also draws parallels with immigration. There is also frequent use of images of light and darkness in the passage. We think back to the darkness on the bridge when the nun was lost, and the darkness we associate with the poor conditions of work in the tunnel. Light has a deeper meaning in the line, “light has not attached itself to him”. The light on the platform becomes an image of joy or hope that Patrick now fails to attain.

The final lines of the passage establish a way of seeing Patrick that will allow for greater understanding of what follows in the novel. The images reveal to us that Patrick is numb from his grief. He is driven by bitterness and what can be seen as a desire to revenge the death of Alice, no matter what the cost to himself.