One way of viewing the plot of this story would be to frame it this way: This is Daniel's "coming-of-age" story, taking him from boyish innocent all the way to fully responsible, self-sufficient husband. How? By allowing Daniel to learn the truth about life and its difficulties, and by letting Daniel choose what path suits him—either commitment and responsibility, or timidness.
Daniel loves Carax's fiction with religious devotion. Therefore, Carax functions in the novel as an archetypal picture of Daniel's own potential. Daniel sees Carax's passion through his writing, and he wants a taste of that glorious experience, but he doesn't understand the cost until he learns what Carax suffered—so much pain that he made his life's work to eliminate any proof of the past, by burning his own books.
This shows Daniel the dual nature of life: On the positive side, there is love, family, and the meaning that comes from a passionate life well-lived. On the negative side, there is deceit, malice, frustration, and despair. Daniel decides that, although the cost is steep, and although suffering is universal, he will accept his fate. His reward for that noble choice is a wife who deeply respects him.
