Identity

The narrative arc of the novel acts as a destruction of the protagonist’s sense of self, and in this way, the book seeks to investigate the origin and meaning of identity. Bruno’s preferred persona, one of aloofness, sophistication, control, and emotional distance, is something he artificially constructed with the help of his former acquaintance Konrad. Bruno then affected that persona until it apparently came to reflect his own sense of self. In reacting against the environment of Berkeley and his family connection with his mother, Bruno decided to inhabit an entirely new identity and practiced it until it came to completely define him. However, the novel repeatedly questions whether or not this can truly be considered Bruno’s identity, for it often alludes to this persona as a mask, one that is forcibly removed by the effects of surgery and returning to Berkeley. Bruno...