Living Life Through Others

The novel presents living life through others as a recurrent pattern that shapes Jordan’s relationships, self-understanding, and interpretive habits across several decades. From her early experiences at the Breach House, Jordan drifts into a mode of living that depends on absorbing the routines, expectations and emotional climates of the people around her. When she spends most of her time at Sam’s shared house rather than in her own accommodation, the novel frames this as an early instance of self-effacement. She allows her daily life to be organised around the preferences of others. The choice signals an inclination to align herself with an existing world rather than constructing one of her own. Her acceptance of the nickname “Jordan” reinforces this pattern. She becomes a character within the interpretive framework devised by Sam and Yash, adopting a role that fits their shared cultural...