Lois Kerschen is a grants coordinator for the Houston Independent School District, the author of American Proverbs about Women, and a freelance writer. In the following essay, she discusses the themes of emotional distance and spirituality in Body & Soul.

Distance is the ever-present element in Frank Conroy's Body & Soul. There is a distance between Claude Rawling's world and the world around him. While some critics have complained that Claude is a lifeless character with whom the reader cannot establish an emotional bond, it seems likely Conroy intended for there to be no link between reader and main character. Through the reader's own difficulty in getting a window into Claude's soul, it becomes apparent that Claude himself has never looked into his soul. Claude is totally self-absorbed, but there is no self-introspection. Separated from the outside world and human interaction, he lives on the surface of himself and...