Dying to Travel

.There was always something strange about Robert and Caroline, but the ending really took things to another level. Up until about the ninth chapter, we follow Colin and Mary around as they rediscover their love after seven years, smoking weed and drinking wine and forgetting that they are two separate people. “Their lovemaking surprised them too, for the great, enveloping pleasure, the sharp, almost painful, thrills were sensations, they said that evening on the balcony, they remembered from seven years before, when they had first met” (77). At this point in the story, Colin and Mary have already met Robert and Caroline. It appears that their stay at Robert’s place may have sparked this newfound excitement in their relationship, as Mary becomes strangely obsessed with Colin in a way that wasn’t present at the beginning of the book. But why would this be? Why did they talk about Robert and what was it about him that was unsettling? When Mary wakes up early in the morning trembling, Colin becomes concerned. He gets dressed and goes out with Mary to the patio, only to have her confess her love for him. The strangest part of the episode, however, is that Robert is brought up at the end, pointing out once again the peculiarity of his character and his influence on their relationship. It isn’t until Caroline begins to explain her masochistic tendencies that we identify the reason behind her and her husband’s fascination with Colin and Mary. “I didn’t doubt Robert’s hatred for me. It wasn’t theater. He made love to me out of deep loathing, and I couldn’t resist. I loved being punished” (110). From here, the story takes a quick turn to reach its sick climax. The tea that Mary drank finally takes its effect, rendering her incapable of speech or movement. Colin’s concern to get Mary to a hospital is only greeted by hostility, leaving him to bleed to death next to his helpless partner. The moral of the story is unclear to me, as the fate of Colin and Mary is not in their hands. Perhaps if they had not gone back to see Robert and Caroline they would have missed the whole ordeal, but that is not how McEwan chose to write it. Instead, the themes of romantic love and desire are paralleled against hostility and death, in a way reminiscent of Death in Venice.