Summary

In “The Slowness of Pleasure,” the woman studies a painting. In the painting, a woman “is seated in a boat . . . holding a chain” (99). Reeds surround the boat and a lantern hangs from it (99). The river the boat is on looks like it is trying “to freeze” the moment in time (100).

The woman in the boat knows she will die, but is “not crying” (100). The blanket she wears does not protect her from the cold, although the cold “wants to kill” her (100).

The woman feels that she is the woman in the painting (100). She feels death’s nearness and wants to “let herself go” (101). The boat does not move. With her nails digging into the bench, the woman feels she is alone with the woman in the painting. She feels the “limits of the landscape,” both in the museum and...