The Pursuit of Unrealized Desire

Throughout the novel, the author explores the psychic complications, consequences, and implications of perpetually pursuing unrealized desire. Through Harriet's narrative experience, the author illustrates how the individual's attachment to past longings and hopes might limit her ability to grow beyond them. Though Harriet is physically distanced from her past life in Druhástrana and is no longer proximal to or literally controlled by the Kercheval family, she remains confused about who she is and what she wants in the narrative present. She constantly tells herself that the source of her inescapable unrest is her disappointed and lost friendship with Gretel. However, as the novel progresses, the reader is increasingly able to see that Gretel may not in fact be the origin of Harriet's unhappiness. Rather, she attaches the sum of her angst and psychic restlessness to her childhood friend as a means...