Switzerland

Switzerland becomes, for Yolandi Von Riesen and her sister Elfrieda Von Riesen, a possible route to an assisted death rather than a place encountered directly in the story. Yolandi’s understanding of Swiss law makes the option seem legally conceivable for someone who is mentally ill and weary of living; the thought that she might help Elfrieda reach it turns a blunt refusal into an unresolved family and moral crisis.

A possibility first refused

When Elfrieda asks Yolandi to take her to Switzerland, Yolandi refuses, resisting Elfrieda’s description of the request as one last favor. The exchange establishes the central divide: Elfrieda seeks a way to leave, while Yolandi is not ready to help her do so. Elfrieda later argues that Yolandi’s own willingness to keep living despite uncertainty about finding true love should also apply to her, since she considers death certain and sees no comparable reason to wait. Switzerland is thus tied not only to a destination, but to the sisters’ disagreement over hope, certainty, and the right to choose an ending.

Research and competing routes

Yolandi’s refusal gives way to investigation. After learning that Nic is going to Spain, she searches online for Nembutal there, then looks into assisted death for people with mental illness. She finds information suggesting that Swiss law permits assistance when there is no selfish motive, and that non-Swiss citizens may also be covered. This research helps her understand why Elfrieda had asked to go there; it does not establish that a particular clinic would accept Elfrieda or that the plan would succeed.

Yolandi weighs the Swiss possibility against a separate plan involving Mexico and Nembutal. The Swiss route seems more legally direct to her, but she worries that doctors might decide Elfrieda’s suffering does not qualify. She also considers what to tell Elfrieda: revealing the possibility might extinguish any remaining wish to live, while concealing it would leave Elfrieda without the option she is asking about. The comparison makes Switzerland a focus of Yolandi’s attempt to understand both legal feasibility and her own responsibility, not a settled solution.

Secrecy, family, and responsibility

Elfrieda asks Yolandi to keep the request from Nic and their mother, Lottie. She believes Nic still hopes medicine can cure her and that Lottie will continue to hope in God or in the odds; she expects neither to consent. Elfrieda appeals to Yolandi as the person who understands her, and the possibility of going to Zurich becomes a proposal for the sisters to leave together without telling the others. Yolandi questions whether such a plan could work.

The secrecy Elfrieda requests sharpens the conflict rather than resolving it. Yolandi’s contemplated actions would involve more than interpreting a law: they would mean withholding the plan from close family members and deciding whether to help Elfrieda act on her wish. Her research therefore sits between Elfrieda’s appeal for autonomy and Yolandi’s fear of enabling a choice that might foreclose the possibility of recovery.

Julie’s counsel and the unresolved option

Yolandi later tells Julie that she has searched for the cost of a clinic in Zurich. Julie thinks the option may be intended only for people who are already dying; Yolandi counters with her understanding that Swiss law also recognizes cases involving mental illness and a weariness of life. The exchange distinguishes general information Yolandi has found from the practical and ethical questions still before her.

Julie advises waiting to see whether treatment or medication works this time. Yolandi can agree to wait, yet fears Elfrieda might be released from hospital and then disappear. She describes the Zurich plan as possible even while acknowledging how improbable it seems, and says she feels she ought to do it for Elfrieda although she does not want her sister to die. Switzerland remains suspended between possibility and decision: the account records research, argument, and deliberation, not a completed trip or an outcome.