“Resist the temptation to think what afflicts you is peculiar to you. Have faith that what is in your consciousness can be communicated to the consciousness of all. And is, in many cases, already there.”
The story explores the Jungian thought on the collective unconscious in how it connects humanity through time. Lissie is an embodiment or rather an entity that represents the collective unconscious that is inherited from past experiences. Through Suwelo, Lissie manifests as his anima but also demonstrates the whole idea of the connectedness that exists through generations. Fanny’s father Ola extends this idea to her when undergoing her own journey of self-discovery and life crisis. Consequently, our human experience is not only created by personal journeys but also by the objective psyche that is shared collectively.
“I'm mad about the waste that happens when people who love each other can't even bring themselves to talk.”
Fanny and Suwelo’s marriage is afflicted by the main marital issues, infidelity, mistrust, and lack of communication. Moreover, Fanny is a strong modern woman but the husband still abides by the toxic idea of masculinity, therefore, adds issues to the already failing marriage. Both harbor their own point of view and explore different journeys in finding themselves which had been lost in the marriage. During their self-exploration, Fanny finds her inner self whereas Suwelo does the same but also understands the value of commitment. He gains newfound self-awareness in how their conflicting standpoints foster poor communication even though there is love.
“They were both wrong. There had not been a victim and an oppressor: there'd really been two victims, both of them carting around lonely, needy bodies that were essentially blind flesh.”
The sexual relationships in the story are in the most part infidelities in the name of sexual exploration and liberation. Each character involved cheats for different reasons either seeking validation or self-autonomy. Case in point Carlotta is betrayed by her husband when he sleeps with her mother. Consequently, she becomes Suwelo’s mistress hence an entanglement of infidelities that cross over. Fanny held the notion that her husband took advantage of Carlotta in their sexual escapades. But later realizes that no one was losing per se since each had their own agendas but they were essentially filling an emotional hole through sex.
