“I phoned a friend whose advice was to play the sailor and run a wife in every port. If I told Jacqueline I’d ruin everything and for what? If I told Jacqueline I’d hurt her beyond healing and did I have that right? Probably I had nothing more than dog-fever for two weeks and I could get it out of my system and come home to my kennel.
Good sense. Common sense. Good dog.”
Written on the Body, pg. 40
On the surface, this passage is a segment of the narrator’s deliberation. They consider the cons of telling Jacqueline the truth about their affair. On a deeper level, this passage reveals how the narrator views themself; it also carries notes of societal normativity.
The syntax of this passage holds contrast: it begins with long, unbroken sentences, questioning in tone. This is the narrator’s pure stream of consciousness. It then transitions into clipped part-sentences which shut down the narrator’s earlier ruminations. After all, there is no need to worry about the ethical implications of being honest with Jacqueline if they ‘get it out of their system’ and move on (40).
The narrator says that they have “dog-fever” and need to return home to a “kennel,” which conjures imagery of a crate or cage that might be too small for the dog (40). Something constraining. This is not the last time the narrator refers to themself in dog-like terms. On page 56, the narrator explicitly thinks, “I want to snarl like the dog I am,” and on page 91 they are “dog-dumb.” Interesting, then, that the narrator draws comparisons between themself and a cat later in the book, stating that they take it in “the way Louise had taken me” and then referring to themself and the cat in tandem (109). Whether cat or dog, the narrator thinks of themself in terms of a household pet. Feral and dangerous, protective, mistreated, loyal—all at once.
This metaphor is a building block of a broader theme: rejecting normativity and hegemony. The narrator lives in a society which values faithful, heterosexual marriage, and the narrator adopts this obsession, questioning how one can be happy in such a system. The movement from “good sense” to “common sense” to “good dog” shows that the three are interconnected. Common sense, which is made up of common norms and beliefs, equates to good beliefs. Morality is tangibly attached to these practices. If the narrator adopts these beliefs and stops their affair, they will be a good dog, trained by society to be a docile household pet.
Thus, the narrator’s struggle with norms and their internal debate is influenced by how they perceive themself. The choices are 1) ‘playing the sailor,’ being honest with Jacqueline, and ‘ruining everything,’ versus 2) moving through the affair and then conforming. Readers know that the narrator is honest and chooses not to play it safe. This is a decision followed by violence from both the narrator and Jacqueline, which is quite telling. Although the narrator is a contradictory character, they repeatedly grapple with their own dark side (akin to an angry dog) and whether they are worth saving (akin to a stray cat).
I think it is interesting how when the narrator is mainly talking about themselves in reference to being a dog, they are still in a relationship with Jacqueline. This is significant because Jacqueline is a zookeeper, her whole job is to tame and manage wild animals. In this specific instance on page 40, the narrator talks about them being a good dog and then in the next paragraph talks about Jacqueline’s job as a zookeeper. The reader also has not seen Jacqueline lose it over the affair yet, so the reader can associate the good dog with the good zookeeper to conforming. Once the narrator breaks this and becomes “feral” so does Jacqueline and they are no longer the “good” zookeeper and the stereotypical normal couple playing into the Christmas Effect.
This is a fantastic analysis! Your breakdown of the syntax and the narrator’s self-perception adds so much depth to the passage. To me this matters because the narrator’s dilemma isn’t just about honesty- it’s about identity and autonomy. Their shifting self-comparisons to an animal highlight their struggle with societal conditioning versus personal desire. The tension between conformity and individuality drives the novel’s broader themes, showing that breaking free from norms comes with emotional and even physical consequences. The narrator isn’t just questioning their actions-they’re questioning their very sense of self. I loved reading this, and this was definitely an eye opening piece.