His migraine headaches seemed to be diminishing as he grew older, but in his forties he developed some other complications. He felt tired and depressed, nightmares troubled his sleep, and the minute he woke up he was plagued by worried and anxieties: about having too many houses, about Sandra, whom he had abandoned, and so on. Like a drifting autumn leaf, a shred of despair rustled about inside him.

It was the kind of despair he had so far experienced only when a patient died under his arms.

(Mulisch 154)

This passage from episode five of Harry Mulisch's The Assault demonstrates how Anton is getting older, and more importantly his memories themselves are getting older and starting to fade away. Throughout the novel, Anton experiences pain when he has memories, as illustrated in this quotation, "it was much more painful now than when it was happening." This instance occurs...