Literary Analysis Essay on A Separation: Unfaithfulness, Intimacy & Isolation

Introduction

A tale of unfaithfulness and intimacy, "A separation" is about the bight that separates us from the lives of others and the tale we create for ourselves. As the protagonist deliberates upon her love for a guy who may never be what he seems to like, Katie pushes us into the familiarity of the woman on the edge of upheaval. The protagonist is isolated and cool, a literary interpreter since translation's potential for inactivity appeals to the reader. The novel is a fascinating stylistic masterpiece of presence and absence that leaves the reader surprised, and transfixed.

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A separation is a novel articulated in a universal linear fashion. The writing of the novel is in the past tense and is told in the first person from the viewpoint of the anonymous protagonist. What is known of the anonymous protagonist is that she is a woman living in London and working as a translator (KITAMURA). The protagonist is married to a man called Christopher who is in his mid-forties. Christopher has gone to Greece to undertake research for his new book, which talks about the grieving rituals globally. One day, the protagonist is called and asked by her mother-in-law Isabella to embark on a journey to Greece to find out the whereabouts of her son. At this juncture, the protagonist and her husband Christopher have been separated for half a year as a result of endless infidelity by Christopher. The protagonist has now started courting a man known as Yvan. The protagonist agrees to go to Greece and search for her husband, but she secretly anticipates to ask him for a divorce upon finding him. She finally goes to Greece and arrives in a village known as Gerolimenas. She then moves to the hotel in Gerolimenas where her husband had checked in, but unfortunately, she does not find him there. At the hotel, she meets two staffs: a man called Kostas, and a lady known as Maria. When she finally introduces herself as the wife to Christopher, she can tell from the reaction of Maria that she is jealous. The protagonist suspects that her husband might have slept with Maria.

The protagonist uses the next day perusing the items of her husband Christopher which he had left behind in the Hotel. She waits in the hotel for her husband to return, but after sometimes she takes a cab to take her round the village. The driver of the taxi is a man called Stefano, who happens to be an ally of Kostas and Maria (KITAMURA). The protagonist hastily claims to Stefano that her mission in Gerolimenas is to undertake research on a book regarding mourning. After the protagonist is taken round the village by Stefano, they visit the home of his great-aunt, who is a proficient mourner for funerals in Greece, and the great-aunt exhibits the rituals. Later, back at the hotel, the protagonists encounter Maria and Stefano having a conversation, and she could tell that Stefano was in love with Maria, whereas Maria does not share the same feeling towards him. In a later talk with Maria, the Protagonist learns that her husband Christopher was alleged to have had a short-term affair with a certain woman in nearby Cape Tenaro. That evening Maria and the protagonist enjoy dinner together in the hotel restaurant. Maria enquires more about Christopher, and upon completing the meal, the protagonist enquires from Maria if she had slept with Christopher. Maria, slightly embarrassed, admits to having slept with him.

Next day, the body of Christopher is found lying in a trench by the roadside, and the protagonist is requested to appear at the police station to identify it. Christopher was murdered by a blow at the back of his head in what seems like a casual robbery. The protagonist then goes back to the hotel where she informs her in-laws of the sad news regarding their son's death. They would later fly to Greece. Upon arrival in Greece, the protagonist meets them and she decides to hide the news about her separation with their son, nor of her imminent divorce. She is mindful of her in-law's feelings and does not want to add more pain to already grieving family.

Later, the protagonist goes with Isabella and Mark to see the place where Christopher was murdered. Thereafter, they all go back to London taking the slain Christopher's body alongside (KITAMURA). As a result of the fact that Christopher was killed prior to the protagonist asking for a divorce, she still carries the marriage feeling in her, or at least appreciative to him and his parents. Hence, the persistent sense of indecision acts as an obstruction in her relationship with Yvan. Several months later after leaving Greece, the protagonist is called by t parents telling her that she has inherited a sum of three million English pounds from Christopher. This is due to the fact that she was Christopher's wife when he died. She feels pleased to accept the cash so as to maintain the pretense that she and Christopher had actually not been divorced.

Work Cited

Katie Kitamura, A Separation (New York: Riverhead Books, 2017), 25.