Time Under Desire

Simple Passion

Follows the narrator’s altered perception of time, from waiting and compressed encounters to retrospective attempts to reverse loss.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Next Appointment The Next Appointment from "Simple Passion". The Next Appointment No Distant Future The narrator’s future consists largely of the telephone call fixing another meeting.

The Next Appointment from "Simple Passion". The Next Appointment No Distant Future The narrator’s future consists largely of the telephone call fixing another meeting.

The Next Appointment No Distant Future The narrator’s future consists largely of the telephone call fixing another meeting. She limits outings because absence might cause her to miss it. Time Reduced Days acquire meaning according to whether A has called. The calendar becomes an instrument of expectation rather than independent life.

Hours Measured Away Hours Measured Away from "Simple Passion". Hours Measured Away Borrowed Present The narrator removes her watch while A keeps his. She sees each hour remaining through the kitchen clock.

Hours Measured Away from "Simple Passion". Hours Measured Away Borrowed Present The narrator removes her watch while A keeps his. She sees each hour remaining through the kitchen clock.

Hours Measured Away Borrowed Present The narrator removes her watch while A keeps his. She sees each hour remaining through the kitchen clock. Departure in Advance Even during intimacy, the approaching end occupies her attention. Pleasure is experienced as a future pain already beginning.

The Long Florence Interval The Long Florence Interval from "Simple Passion". The Long Florence Interval Planned Separation The narrator books a journey to Florence as a way to imagine breaking away.

The Long Florence Interval from "Simple Passion". The Long Florence Interval Planned Separation The narrator books a journey to Florence as a way to imagine breaking away.

The Long Florence Interval Planned Separation The narrator books a journey to Florence as a way to imagine breaking away. The departure is scheduled far enough ahead to avoid an immediate decision. Return Imagined On the train, she pictures the return journey to Paris before reaching her destination. The interval expands into an intolerable wait for reunion.

Dates Reopened Dates Reopened from "Simple Passion". Dates Reopened Counting Backward The narrator calculates how many weeks have passed since A left.

Dates Reopened from "Simple Passion". Dates Reopened Counting Backward The narrator calculates how many weeks have passed since A left.

Dates Reopened Counting Backward The narrator calculates how many weeks have passed since A left. Public events and ordinary errands become markers of when he was present. An Unreachable Day She relives small moments in vivid detail and longs to enter the past again. Time preserves memory but refuses the return she desires.

The Changed April The Changed April from "Simple Passion". The Changed April Interrupted Obsession The narrator sometimes wakes without immediately thinking of A.

The Changed April from "Simple Passion". The Changed April Interrupted Obsession The narrator sometimes wakes without immediately thinking of A.

The Changed April Interrupted Obsession The narrator sometimes wakes without immediately thinking of A. The change is modest but signals a break in the continuous passion. A New Temporal Distance A remembered detail now belongs to a remote reality. Time begins to separate his words from the present rather than lead back to him.

during the first weeks of the affair

during an afternoon visit

two months after booking a trip to Florence

the months after A’s departure

April after A’s departure