Point of View

Ill's outlook on the world is, initially, like the rest of the town: he looks towards Claire as a kind of savior from the miseries of poverty. In fact, he even has a privileged role in trying to squeeze money out of her, as her former lover. Naturally, his optimism does not survive Claire's proposal, which entails his murder. He then becomes suspicious—and generally rightly so—of his fellow townspeople. He looks with dread on the new purchases they make on credit and wonders how they intend to pay their debts without killing him. His fears run so deep that he even tries to leave the town—where he has lived for seventy years—and his family to escape what appears to be certain death. After he is prevented from leaving, he spends some time reflecting in his apartment. During that...