Narrator

The narrator is a nameless man of indiscriminate age. At the start of the story, he seemingly refers to himself in the third person, as he sets out to account for the expenses associated with his recent affair. He fails to retain this detachment from himself, and begins using the first person. However, as soon as he becomes more emotional, he starts using the second person point of view instead. Throughout the narrative, the man slips back and forth between second and first person. These rapid and frequent narrative shifts illustrate the man's reluctance to identify with his prolonged feelings for the woman, and his simultaneous fear of losing the feelings and memories associated with her.

Roughly six weeks prior to the narrative present, the narrator traveled to an unidentified city and checked into a hotel. During the 10 days he spent in this place, he spent nearly every...