Written On The Body

Throughout the novel, the narrator’s love relationships are compared to new worlds that the narrator discovers and then explores. The narrator’s life with Jacqueline is compared to an “new island” discovered by the narrator after surviving a shipwreck. As well, Louise’s body is compared to a foreign land as the narrator uses explorer imagery to describe the process of becoming familiar with Louise’s body: “How could I cover this land?” (52). The narrator identifies with Christopher Columbus and uses the words “explored” and “discovered” repeatedly in a sexual context. 

As the narrator and Louise grow closer, they see the world through each other’s eyes. Like many new lovers in this situation, they explore their new world together, as intimates. The narrator, however, pushes on Louise’s boundaries and invites a darker interpretation of this metaphor. While exploration and adventure are often linked, exploration can also suggest colonization and domination. The narrator breaches Louise’s “borders” by breaking into her kitchen to observe her everyday items, including her underwear in a laundry basket. Later, after learning about Louise’s leukemia, the narrator makes a unilateral decision to end the relationship so that Louise will stay with her husband.