Alba and the Older Self

The Time Traveler's Wife

This thread follows Alba’s encounters with her younger self and her parents as she learns to live with inherited time displacement.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Daughter Yet Unborn The Daughter Yet Unborn from "The Time Traveler's Wife". The Daughter Yet Unborn Henry meets the child he hopes for Henry encounters ten-year-old Alba years before her birth.

The Daughter Yet Unborn from "The Time Traveler's Wife". The Daughter Yet Unborn Henry meets the child he hopes for Henry encounters ten-year-old Alba years before her birth.

The Daughter Yet Unborn Henry meets the child he hopes for Henry encounters ten-year-old Alba years before her birth. Her confidence, intelligence, and affection overwhelm him because she is already a person with a life he has not yet reached. Inheritance is not only suffering Alba says she likes time travel and describes a degree of control Henry never had. Her experience complicates his fear that the condition can only be a curse.

A Daughter Explains Herself A Daughter Explains Herself from "The Time Traveler's Wife". A Daughter Explains Herself Alba names her condition Alba calls herself a Chrono-Displaced Person and explains that she can sometimes choose when and where to…

A Daughter Explains Herself from "The Time Traveler's Wife". A Daughter Explains Herself Alba names her condition Alba calls herself a Chrono-Displaced Person and explains that she can sometimes choose when and where to…

A Daughter Explains Herself Alba names her condition Alba calls herself a Chrono-Displaced Person and explains that she can sometimes choose when and where to travel. Her account gives Henry an intimate view of what his daughter may inherit. The family’s future remains open Henry asks whether she can refuse to travel, and she cannot. Yet Alba describes the experience as interesting, preserving the difference between her life and his rather than treating her as a copy.

The Yard Holds Two Ages The Yard Holds Two Ages from "The Time Traveler's Wife". The Yard Holds Two Ages Older Alba appears beside herself Seven-year-old Alba visits her three-year-old self in the family yard.

The Yard Holds Two Ages from "The Time Traveler's Wife". The Yard Holds Two Ages Older Alba appears beside herself Seven-year-old Alba visits her three-year-old self in the family yard.

The Yard Holds Two Ages Older Alba appears beside herself Seven-year-old Alba visits her three-year-old self in the family yard. The two girls run into the kitchen together, turning an extraordinary event into a moment of delighted recognition. Henry’s secret protects Clare Older Alba cries for her father, and Henry asks her not to tell Clare that he died. The adults share an emotional future while the younger child remains safely inside her present.

A Story by the Lake A Story by the Lake from "The Time Traveler's Wife". A Story by the Lake Henry tells Alba how her parents met Henry sits with ten-year-old Alba at Lighthouse Beach and recounts Clare’s first meeting with a naked…

A Story by the Lake from "The Time Traveler's Wife". A Story by the Lake Henry tells Alba how her parents met Henry sits with ten-year-old Alba at Lighthouse Beach and recounts Clare’s first meeting with a naked…

A Story by the Lake Henry tells Alba how her parents met Henry sits with ten-year-old Alba at Lighthouse Beach and recounts Clare’s first meeting with a naked time traveler. Alba knows the story and corrects him when he tells it poorly. The origin becomes family inheritance The tale lets Alba understand the relationship that preceded her while also asking why Henry never visits Clare’s future. His answer is simply that he would if he could.

The Traveler’s Role Reverses The Traveler’s Role Reverses from "The Time Traveler's Wife". The Traveler’s Role Reverses Clare mistakes desire for Henry’s return Clare’s encounter with Gomez triggers a vivid imagined return to her intimacy with Henry.

The Traveler’s Role Reverses from "The Time Traveler's Wife". The Traveler’s Role Reverses Clare mistakes desire for Henry’s return Clare’s encounter with Gomez triggers a vivid imagined return to her intimacy with Henry.

The Traveler’s Role Reverses Clare mistakes desire for Henry’s return Clare’s encounter with Gomez triggers a vivid imagined return to her intimacy with Henry. For a moment, memory and longing feel physically present. Clare recognizes her changed position After the experience ends, Clare asks herself what she has become. She understands that she is now the one waiting and carrying the past forward, a reversal that makes Henry’s former helplessness newly legible.

November 16, 2011

June 12, 2005

July 29, 1979

July 12, 2008