To Return is to Travel

I guess the best way to begin my blog post would be to explain how deeply engrossed I was throughout the entirety of The Comfort of Strangers. From the time that I opened the book earlier this evening, I closed it only once, and that was to get dinner. I thought the story was extremely well written, and the author was able to perfectly able to set up the relationship between Colin and Mary so that I liked them and even felt a level of attachment, yet was still intrigued to eagerly witness their demise.

But what made this book even more interesting was that it calls into question the very emotion around which we often fortify our very existence: love. In the story, Robert serves in some way as the catalyst in driving Colin and Mary into a state where they are physically, emotionally, and sexually inseparable from each other. Even though they relish in this renewed passion, they are subconsciously driven to return to Robert and Caroline, despite obvious signs that it is not a good idea, a decision that ultimately pans out rather poorly for the young couple.

Although the circumstances are much different, the tale of return shares much in common with the story of a typical traveler. Despite the fact that all might be well in their life, there is in inevitable drive inside most of us to leave behind what we know, and to experience and explore that which we do not. Much like how Mary and Colin are motivated by the question “Why?” to follow through the plans of Robert and Caroline, many a person has been motivated to travel by the desire of the unknown, by the wanderlust that, like the motivations of Mary and Colin, are impossible to truly grasp and understand.