Shoes

One night while living in Ithaca, Alexandra attends a party at Rob's house. When she is about to leave, however, Alexandra cannot find her shoes, and starts considering whether or not to steal someone else's instead of locating her own. In this scene, the author uses the shoes to symbolize change. Standing above the pile of other people's shoes, Alexandra considers how nice it would be to seize someone else's more expensive, less worn footwear. However, none of the shoes she tries on feel right, either too small or too big. Her struggle in this scene is a metaphoric representation of Alexandra's confusion: she cannot decide if ending her relationship and starting over is a good idea, or if remaining in her familiar, though exhausting and sometimes dysfunctional partnership, is the better idea.

Alexandra's Dog and Cat

While living in Ithaca, Alexandra and J acquire two...