“You have scored your name into my shoulders, referenced me with your mark. The pads of your fingers have become printing blocks, you tap a message on to my skin, tap meaning into my body. Your morse code interferes with my heart beat” (89).
Within this passage exists a repetition of the words “you,” “my,” “your,” and body parts – shoulders, fingers, skin, body, heart beat. This possessive language indicates that the narrator feels as if these actions have been done to him/her. From this repetition of “you” and “my,”the narrator is indirectly stating that Louise has left a physical impact on his/her body. She has metaphorically branded the narrator – written on his/her body. The repetition of the body parts displays the physicality of the relationship. The narrator is acknowledging that fact that their relationship was confined to the bedroom. They were bound by lust and promiscuity and were unable to act normally within society.
The narrator expresses these thoughts after he/she fights with Jacqueline and strikes her in the face. “I had a steady heart beat before I met you, I relied upon it, it had seen active service and grown strong. Now you alter its pace with your own rhythm, you play upon me, drumming me taut” (89). After the dramatic episode in the flat with Jacqueline, the narrator is beginning to understand the impact that his/her relationship with Louise has had on him/her. This is just yet another example in which the narrator places the blame on Louise. He/she is unable to take responsibility for any part of the relationship. On the other hand, the narrator is also not used to feeling so vulnerable; he/she has never experienced the passion, chaos, and responsibility of true love. The active verbs in this passage demonstrate this continuation of the narrator moving everything on to Louise, as he/she has done throughout the novel.
Another element to this passage that resonates with me is the element of marking, branding, or writing. The title of the book, Written on the Body, helps me to conclude that the narrator is implying that Louise has written all over him/her. Right after he/she states the passage indicated above, the narrator thinks about Louise’s reading hands and how she has written on his/her body and translated him/her into her own book. The narrator, at this point in time, is unable to accept responsibility for the relationship. Despite how unhealthy and destructive this relationship is, he/she has never felt so loved by anyone in his/her entire life. This passage is an example of the overarching theme of the novel – the narrator feeling victimized by Louise.