A Fine Balance

“What was the point of repeating the story over and over and over, she asked herself—it always ended the same way; whichever corridor she took, she wound up in the same room.” 

Dina refuses to reflect on her past and analyze how things might have turned out differently. This is in marked contrast to Maneck, who never wants to leave the past. 

“When the familiar music filled her head, the past was conquered for a brief while, and she felt herself ache with the ecstasy of completion, as though a missing limb had been recovered.” 

Dina’s life with Nusswan is a grind because her brother is a greedy materialist. When she loses herself in music, it feels as if part of her soul is restored. 

“Flirting with madness was one thing; when madness started flirting back, it was time to call the whole thing off.”

Dina nearly loses herself in her own happy past. However, unlike Maneck, she realizes that this is a futile way to soothe herself and acknowledges when it’s time to move on.