Lessons

“These were elements of the real world his father had sent him 2,000 miles away from his mother to learn.”

On one level, the narrative refers to mathematics and grammar, and how Roland had been sent away to England to learn about these topics. However, on another level, his father is also sending him away to learn a deeper lesson about the real world. Namely, about the inevitability of loss and separation and how to deal with it.

“She sits close on the piano stool. Perfume, blouse, red nails. Vivid as ever, as though dirt of the grave in her hair.”

These are lines from the poem Roland had written about his relationship with Cornell. The reference to the grave attracts the attention of the police inspector, who suspects Roland may have murdered Alissa. However, what the poem really shows is how Roland, decades after breaking up with Cornell, is still haunted by her memory. Specifically, he is haunted by the memory of the piano lessons he had with her when 11, and how this warped his emotional and erotic life afterward.

“Roland, who knew something of these war-like preparations, got into his mother’s bed at night not only to receive comfort but to give it.”

Roland describes how he used to sleep in his mother’s bed up until the age of 11, when his father went away on maneuvers with the military. Roland not only needed friendship and comfort; his mother, due to Robert being emotionally neglectful, needed it as well. Robert’s decision to send Roland away to England was not just about correcting Roland’s excessive desire for intimacy but also about attempting to correct his wife’s desire for intimacy as well.