Atdtda23: Borrowed time, 650-651

[Paul Nightingale]

Given his role throughout as wanderer, and his status in the previous
section, it is hardly surprising that Frank sums up thus: "I'm back and
forth a lot."

Stray's lengthy speech on life with Reef takes us back to the hotel on 646;
here the emphasis is on ageing, the impossibility of not changing, "... the
fear of living on borrowed time" (651). Frank again is marginalised.
Previously, his dream dominated the narrative; here, Stray's introspection
("her own sad story, her dream") takes over. Invoking circular time ("...
for all her winters got through and returns to valley and creekside in the
spring ..." etc) offers another kind of repetition, or recycling of
experience, albeit one that emphasises loss. Stray compares herself to "all
those girls who hadn't kept coming back"; for Frank there is the "one
recurring dream" (649) itself, while for Stray there is the irresistible
passage of time.