“Clara longs for structure and everyday routine. She can no longer bear lying awake all night and staying in bed till late morning without really feeling rested.”
The quotation highlights the deep-seated need that Clara has for structure and routine in her life. This longing is a direct result of her grief as she struggles to cope with losing Ben. The lack of regularity in her life has caused Clara great distress, evidenced by her inability to sleep at night and not feeling rested upon waking. It could be assumed that Clara's daily life before Ben's death was rather structured since she found comfort in having some sort of schedule to follow each day. Clara demonstrates an admirable level of resilience while coping with loss by attempting new methods of communication as a way to find closure. The absence of structure also reflects how Clara's life has changed since Ben died. It symbolizes the disruption caused by his loss and that nothing will ever be quite the same again for Clara. For Clara, sending texts to Ben's phone number provides solace but it is hardly enough to fill the void left by his passing away.
“Every person probably has some part of themselves that’s eager to find out secret information”
It speaks to the human desire for knowledge and our curiosity when faced with unanswered questions. Clara and Sven are both dealing with psychological pain and grief but they each take separate approaches. While Clara sends messages into the void hoping for a response, Sven feels compelled to uncover the sender's identity despite his fear of her reaction. This curiosity drives us to fill in gaps in our knowledge—even if it means risking our emotional safety—as Sven did when he began snooping around trying to discover who was sending him messages. This quote also reflects on how technology has changed how we seek out information and interact with each other. Clara can express her grief without judgment from others and Sven can learn about someone else without having any personal connection. The narrator indicates that humans possess an inherent curiosity regarding secrets despite the consequences.
“Ben was always enthusiastic about everything. Whenever an idea came into his head, no matter how unrealistic it might be in practice, he would flesh it out in elaborate detail and take great joy in it.”
This excerpt highlights Ben's personality which aids the reader understand his character and the impact of his death on Clara. Ben was someone who had a great deal of enthusiasm for life, dreams, and ideas. His eagerness to examine every potential idea regardless of its practicality reveals that he was an optimist and full of hope. This trait likely contributed to him being a source of positivity in Clara's life as they shared their hopes and dreams. After Ben's death, this optimism is absent from Clara's life. She no longer has the same sense of possibility that came with sharing her thoughts with Ben. The reassignment of Ben's phone number to Sven further complicates Clara’s grief process. Sending texts to what she believes is still his number, gives her comfort by allowing her to continue having conversations with him.
