I'm inconsistent, get distracted.
-- Narrator (Pages 1 - 51)

Importance: At the start of the novel, when Elizabeth describes her job at the high school, she blames her unsatisfactory teaching on her distractible nature. However, Elizabeth's inability to focus is also the driving force behind the narrative's formal and linguistic patterns. Elizabeth cannot sit still, perpetually running, walking, moving from place to place. In the same way she struggles to physically remain fixed, Elizabeth's mind resists meditating on one topic for long, and the narrative structure fragments accordingly.

I won't be able to breathe at work if I don't go running.
-- Narrator (Pages 1 - 51)

Importance: In the early pages of the novel, Elizabeth's running routine appears to be an innocuous pastime. However, as the narrative unfolds, Elizabeth's emotional stability proves increasingly reliant upon her enforced regimen. She needs to run because she needs somewhere to direct her perpetually restless energy. In this moment, she fears that if she does not...