ATDTDA (7): Frank, Cooper, 201-203

[Paul Nightingale]

The reader is aligned with Frank to discover the
reasons why he was asked to accompany Reef: "Stray, as
it turned out ..." etc, and "Frank came quickly to
understand ..." etc. Is he flattering himself to think
that Reef needs him: "Almost as if he didn't really
know what he was doing ..." etc. Frank, here, is still
searching for a role (as he has been since Reef
separated him from his books, 199).

He wanders round, the narrative recording his take on
events, on the situation as a whole: "At any given
time ..." etc. His observations are an attempt to
impose order on chaos ("two or three girls were either
packing or unpacking, just back from trips or just
about the leave ..."); but he struggles ("... how many
and what their names were he never got straight either
...").

He is kept at a distance, and feels they must be "a
little wary of him for being Reef's brother" (202).

In what remains of this section, Cooper appears and
demonstrates his capacity for guitar-picking in order
to woo Sage, Stray's friend. Hence, in the writing,
Cooper is juxtaposed to Reef, who doesn't reappear
until the end of the section: perhaps enviously,
perhaps thinking it will help him with Stray, he
insists it "[c]ouldn't be that hard to learn how to
play" (203).

If Frank initially fails to make sense of the female
household, and even feels a degree of hostility shown
towards him as another male intruder, then one can say
his status within the text--a guide here for the
reader--is threatened. Aligned with Frank, the reader
also is kept at a distance. Eventually, Cooper,
fulfilling the conventional male role of artful
seducer, is the means by which Frank, and the reader,
will gain access.

When he appears, Frank approaches, "trying to be
helpful" (202). The narrative chaos he fails fully to
decode is replaced by order, the music produced by
Cooper effectively choreographing the scene. Frank
tells Cooper that Stray isn't home, but Cooper starts
performing nonetheless, "his way-too-readable eyes
locked on the windows across the street".
Subsequently, Sage "materialize[s] at the upstairs
window" (203), as if by magic.