Memory

This novel centers on the power of memory to motivate characters' choices and perspectives. Ester and Futh are continually in the path of memory, and spend more time reminiscing about a their past than striving to mend the problems of their present. They cleave onto their memories for both comfort and as a reminder of the injustices that they have and continue to suffer. Not only does the past inform their present circumstance, but it continues to be an active element in replenishing their traumas and desires.

Futh's memory of his mother is the overarching desire that permeates his relationship to other women and to his surroundings. In order to preserve her memory, he goes as far as to impose her scent of violets on his wife Angela, despite her resistance to being molded into an avatar of his mother. He also clings to Gloria's attentions...