At one point he states: "Not believing that your body brilliant as it was and your fat, liquid spirit distinguished and angry as it was were stable quantities to which one could return on wires more than once, twice, or another number of times I said: 'See the table?'" The narrator views his lover more as an unstable object than as a human being, so he tries to attract her by showing her an object he has made: the door he turned into a table. Maybe he hopes that if she likes it, that will make her a more stable presence in his life.
There are echoes here of early childhood, the infantile stage before object constancy is developed. With babies it takes awhile before they realize that their mother is always the same person, she is simply going away and coming back each time -- she doesn't cease to exist whenever she disappears. The narrator's insecurity is similar to an infant's.
The references to clothing -- such as to Sylvia being in love not with Kenneth but with his coat -- point up the importance of fashion in their consumer values. Trends and appearances are crucial. The other cultural artifacts -- works of composers, writers, architects, and film makers -- fall into the same category of consumer objects. As he does with women, the narrator wants to cling to these beautiful objects rather than to confront the battle raging outside.
The women in his life are revolutionaries on the side of the Comanches. Sylvia predicts the narrator will be killed soon by the rebel forces she is part of. But the yellow ribbon Sylvia wears indicates she may be in love with a cavalry soldier, who is fighting against the Indians. Since she had supported the Indians earlier, this makes the narrator ask, "Which side are you on?"
"She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" is the title of a sentimental song about a woman remembering her soldier lover who is away fighting the Indians. "Which Side Are You On?" is also the title of a song, which was sung during labor struggles in the USA. It's about having to take a stand either with the workers or the bosses. Sylvia, then, may be trying to play on both sides.
When he enters a new, masochistic relationship with Miss R., the house where they meet has steel shutters to block the outside world; that's the only way they can feel safe.
Miss R. distrusts abstract language. To her, the only true words are the names of things, the litany she recites. It's similar to the list of stuff on the barricades -- just things without any context of meaning or relationship. Since a litany is a form of prayer, this passage could indicate that all she can pray to are the dissociated names of things on her list.
The poet William Carlos Williams had an artistic credo that is appropriate here. "No ideas but in things," was Williams' advice to writers. He felt that grand ideas had gotten the world into nothing but trouble; we should abandon them and stick to the simple facts around us.
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