Entrapment

Over the course of the novel, the author uses a series of symbolic images and scenes in order to narratively evoke the protagonist and first person narrator Boulder’s experiences of entrapment. Such symbolic work becomes particularly apparent beginning in Chapter 2. Soon after Boulder moves to Reykjavík with Samsa, Samsa purchases a “little yellow house surrounded by other pretty little houses on the outskirts of the city” (24). Although the couple does not immediately move into the house, Boulder cannot help perceiving it as a trap: “These new, single-family homes have ravenous souls that feed off of your own little human soul—sucking dry your freedom, your independence, and all trace of your passion” (25). To Boulder, the house is symbolic of entrapment and restriction. Not long after she and Samsa move into the house with Tinna in Chapter 4, Boulder indeed begins to feel that the house...