Isolation

Isolation is a prominent element of the narrator’s state of being over the course of the novel, and the narrative seeks to illustrate the nature of isolation as deleterious but often unavoidable. The narrator has recently moved not only to a new city, but also to a new country. She has accepted a job at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. When the narrator moved there, she only had once acquaintance in the city. Even as her social circle begins to slowly grow, she is still mostly isolated. The narrator notes, for example, that she lives alone “in an apartment that was too big for one person” (9). This seemingly minor detail further reflects her overall feelings of isolation. Her newness to the city and her lack of contacts are recurring dynamics throughout the novel, and by emphasizing these facts, the narrative also...