Section 1: Part 6 (pp. 93-97) Summary

The conclusion to Section 1 begins with the narrator's disgusted observations of his reflection in a mirror, followed by the recounting of his unsuccessful attempts to grow a beard to hide his face from himself. He likens his considerations of himself to self-portraits painted by Bonnard following the death of his wife, and to early, angry self-portraits by the painter Van Gogh. He describes himself and his reflection as being caught in a kind of "white box of light" which transports him to "some far shore, real or imagined." He describes himself as sitting on that shore, holding a stone in his hand, aware of the looming, powerful presence of the sea (see "Quotes," p. 97).

Section 1: Part 6 (pp. 93-97) Analysis

The narrator's disgust with his physical appearance can be seen as a manifestation of his frequently described disgust...