Summary

Chapter 17 takes place in 1947. Ursula and Nancy spoke of life and death. Nancy wished they had a grave to visit; Ursula was glad they didn't. They could imagine him free instead of trapped in the ground.

Nancy wondered about reincarnation and what Teddy might come back as if the concept were real. Ursula believed Teddy lived his life perfectly, and so he would not be reincarnated as anything.

Analysis

The purpose of Chapter 17 is to show a real-life situation after Teddy died in the war. The reader has just learned from the previous chapter that every part of Teddy's life and legacy after March 30, 1944, was fiction. However, the scene in Chapter 17 is reality, as it is Ursula and Nancy reminiscing about Teddy three years after his death.

The timing of the scene makes sense, since the war didn't end until...