The novel opens with the narrator’s favorite “image” of herself. It only exists in her mind as if she were a third-party observer to her life: “The photograph could only have been taken if someone could have known in advance how important it was to be in my life, that event, that crossing of the river” (10). The narrator’s obsession with an image suggests the novel’s theme of appearance versus identity, or exteriority versus interiority. Her family’s history of adopting a particular image in public contrasts with the realities of their interior life. When the narrator begins her affair, she is concerned about these ideas of exterior versus interior ways of being.

The narrator believes that the changing appearance of her body is both well outside her control and a precursor for imminent personality or ideological changes. She becomes what her body foretells, her exterior appearance dictating the kind of internal life she experiences. Because of this, the narrator is careful about her clothes and their origins. Her attire conveys an image of sensuality, poise, and allure, though originating in secondhand purchases.

The narrator believes that the correct appearance will make her into the woman she must become due to her family’s circumstances.