A Summer Resort
"And yet suddenly, unaccountably, on this oppressive summerlike night, the grassy hillside has become crowded with people who dance, stroll up and down, and swim in the pool, as if this were a summer resort like Los Teques or Marienbad.” (Narrator, pg 35)
The narrator has just discovered the appearance of Morel and his friends on the island. Their behavior, like that of tourists at a summer resort, reflects Morel's intention to create the most enjoyable week possible for his friends to preserve into eternity. This twisted plan treats death itself like a summer resort: an opportunity to enjoy oneself without reservation forever. As we see through the course of the novel, though, this immortalization has an unpleasant cost.
A Race of Giants
"From here they look like a race of giants..." (Narrator, pg 38)
The narrator is looking up at Morel's replicas from the base of the hill. This comparison highlights the success of Morel's achievement as well as his faults: these people, seemingly enjoying eternal life, have achieved something greater than any other humans, making them seem like "giants." Their dull repetition, lack of freedom, and inaccessibility, however, make their eternal lives seem like miserable ones.
An Effective Curse
“Perhaps I can forget my beard, my age, and the police who have pursued me for so long—and who, no doubt, are still searching for me stubbornly, like an effective curse.” (Narrator, pg 65)
The narrator feels pressured by the invisible force of the pursuing police, which seems to him to be an unavoidable and inevitable conflict, like the far-reaching and unavoidable effects of a curse. This fear of the police parallels Morel's fear of death; he sees death as an unavoidable curse, and his deadly experiments result from this fear. The mentality of the curse afflicts both Morel and the narrator, and each ends up sacrificing his life to it.
Wilted Flowers
“Although it will look like a cultivated garden this afternoon, it will be wilted by tomorrow, or, if there is a wind, it may have no flowers at all.” (Narrator, pg 66)
The narrator is musing upon the garden of flowers he creates in order to attract the attention of his beloved Faustine. He puts a lot of effort into the work, and he feels proud of his temporary accomplishment. He realizes, though, that although it will look beautiful for an afternoon, it will soon lose its beauty and reveal itself to be unattractive and transient, unwittingly symbolizing Morel's view of eternal life. Although it seems to be a beautiful and desirable thing, it will soon show itself to be terrible and horrifying.
The Invisible Path to Death
“The strange world I had been living in, my conjectures and anxieties, Faustine— they all seemed like an invisible path that was leading me straight to prison and death." (Narrator, pg 93)
These strange occurrences appear to the narrator to be leading him to imprisonment and death; at this point in the story, he doesn't know how accurate that statement will be. This is a moment of clarity before he becomes completely infatuated with Faustine, causing him to "immortalize" himself along with her at the cost of his life. This "invisible path" does lead him to prison (an eternal life without free will) and death.
