Sharp points of desire were still there but there was too a sleepy safe rest like being in a boat I had as a child. She rocked me against her, sea-calm, sea under a clear sky, a glass-bottomed boat and nothing to fear.” (80)
The sea holds a metaphor for tranquility and bliss. Contrastingly, “sharp points,” and “glass-bottomed boat,” allude to destruction of some sort. In a glass-bottomed boat, nothing is for certain. A casual brush against a coral reef or rock will shatter the bottom, and the boat will most certainly sink. The narrator erects this idea of a glass-bottomed boat, but quickly follows it up by saying that ze has nothing to fear, because Louise is with zir.
The paragraph that follows the above passage ends with two important sentences: “The sea is a means not an end. They trust it in spite of the signs.” Despite the overwhelming vastness of the ocean and the immense power that it has to destroy things, it must be trusted. But how does this make sense? How can one trust something, when they are aware of the damage that it can cause? While I do not have a definitive answer to this question, I assume that many would answer that question with one word: “Love.” Love is the reason for people’s outlandish actions, and it is the driving force behind much bravery. For instance, the narrator’s “glass-bottomed boat and nothing to fear” reference.
I found this to be comparable to Halberstam’s “Queer Time” in a unique way. As we discussed in class, those who do not live in “queer time,” are oftentimes confused and sometimes offended, by the way that others live their lives (ties in with Warner as well). With that being said, those who are in queer time, are not affected positively or negatively because it is normal for them. In other words, although being “queer” is often put under scrutiny by those with closed minds, and people undergo unfair ridicule for their sexual preference, perhaps the quest for love makes it worthwhile and evokes a sense of fearlessness.