Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses drug addiction and suicidal ideation.

“Soon [Isabel will] be compelled to join it all, to muster the most convincing possible manifestation of herself, a person who can do everything that’s required of her.”

When Isabel is introduced in the novel, she is barely sleeping and already feels detached from her family. The use of the words “convincing” and “manifestation” convey just how little she desires to go about her daily life, conveying the theme of Midlife Disillusionment. She feels entirely unfulfilled by where her life has brought her, feeling as though she is just a “manifestation” of a person trying to live her life.

“The Woman on the Stairs. A woman paralyzed by her own selfishness and triviality, a woman who knew she should love her life more than she did but couldn’t seem to love her life beyond a few odd inconsequential incidents.”

The capitalization of the words at the start of this passage convey the idea that Isabel is allowing the stairs to consume her life, creating a title for herself. The stairs are a metaphorical representation of her life as it stands: somewhere between a life she “should love,” and the one that she truly wants.

“Robbie’s in love with the person they’ve created together—someone romantic, someone generous of heart, someone kind and gentle but wised-up and ironic, as well. There’s the fact, too, that Robbie may love them better than they’re able to love each other.”

Robbie’s thoughts about his feelings for Dan and Isabel convey The Complexities of Love and Attraction. While Dan and Isabel discuss later in the text if Robbie was in love with Dan, Robbie believes that he is more in love with their situation as a couple, rather than either of them as individuals. Additionally, Robbie recognizes that Isabel and Dan do not have the relationship they once had, as the two are beginning to drift apart from each other after years together building a family.