“Sometimes it was as if I were back there and as if England was a dream. At other times England was the real thing and out there was the dream, but I could never fit them together.”
This quote explores Anna's dual identity, as she is caught between her home in the Caribbean, and England. The two places are so different she can't "fit them together."
Anna can never have both at the same time, so she is always thinking about one of them. This comes in the form of dreams, meaning she is never fully present in her surroundings. Anna's dual identity is a key aspect of her character, and causes problems for her throughout the text, meaning she never feels a true sense of belonging.
“It's funny when you feel as if you don't want anything more in your life except to sleep, or else to lie without moving. That's when you can hear time sliding past you, like water running.”
Here, Anna is describing her misery and depression. In England she is constantly cold and feels lonely and alienated. She is repeatedly mistreated by men and suffers financially. After Walter leaves her, her life begins to deteriorate. She has to sell her clothes to make ends meet and is evicted from her home as it is discovered she is a "kept woman." These constant setbacks and traumas make Anna feel depressed, to the point where she doesn't want to get out of bed.
“Soon he'll come in again and kiss me, but differently. He'll be different and so I'll be different. It'll be different. I thought, 'It'll be different, different. It must be different.”
Anna is very hopeful in her relationship with Walter, despite obvious signs he is not genuine. Anna confuses his financial support with love, leaving her feeling abandoned and hopeless when he ends their relationship. The word "different" has been repeated here, which represents Anna's strong desire for her life to change.
