Bella

The first point to note about this section of Scene 2 is how Bella shifts back and forth between telling her story to the audience and actually playing out that story in her conversation with Christopher. Here again, there is the strong sense that Bella is controlling the way the story is told, and limiting what the audience actually hears of Christopher’s own voice. See “Discussion Question 2.”

A second point to note about this section is how the conflict plays out – or, more specifically, the two different ways in which the two main characters pursue their intentions. For Christopher, he pursues his goals fairly directly, admitting the real reason that he has come to Bella’s office – to tell her about his novel, and to get her advice about it. The revelation about this aspect of his character and situation is an important one, given that it becomes...