"You's" Memorial Service

"You's" memorial service is the first time the narrator recounts an actual anecdote rather than reporting her musings to the reader. During the memorial service, the unnamed narrator introduces the reader to "you's" past three wives, revealing "you's" problematic relationships with women. The narrator describes the memorial service as "not very different from other literary gatherings," implying that literary gatherings are quickly dying (7). In this way, the memorial service enables the narrator to touch on the themes of grief, unjust gender dynamics, and the degradation of art, which will persist throughout the novel.

The Narrator's Apartment

Most of the novel takes place in the narrator's apartment. In the apartment, the narrator's relationship with Apollo develops, eventually leading to their unusual love for one another. As the narrator becomes more and more enamored with Apollo, she spends more time by herself in her apartment. Thus, the apartment...