“He found he was no longer comfortable with his netted merino. His skin roasted now behind the swaddling band, and so he had taken to removing more frequently the cloth from his chest and to inspecting more carefully his bosom, and not just when he was taking baths. Each time he unpinned the hooks and the cloth unraveled, he was always surprised to see that they were still there, shiny pink apricots showing their red-stained nipples, which he circled slightly until they were hard, then he swirled even larger circles into the patches of velvet surrounding them, and those puckered as well, and he lifted one tiny breast delicately and sacred the warm pulp on its underside. He took to doing this each morning in the privacy of their room”
Powell’s use of imagery throughout the book is extremely eloquent. Thinking back at Lorde’s article on the Erotic, it is exciting to see an author captivate such a intimate moment like this in the book. It really emphasizes utilizing the real definition of erotic in the form of literature. It is not often that literature highlights such close attention to detail, which discussing female anatomy. Powell uses certain phrases that really set the scene, “unpinned the hooks and the cloth unraveled”, “shiny pink apricots showing their red-stained nipples”, “even larger circles into the patches of velvet surrounding them, and those puckered as well”, and “one tiny breast delicately and sacred the warm pulp on its underside”. This very vivid imagery shines a huge light on this intimate moment. The close attention to detail really emphasizes how important this time is that Lowe gets with his body. Lowe is struggling with his sense self, why he is the way that he is, who does he want to be, and because of this indifference the exploration of his body is very important to this character. At the end of the quote, it states that this is an everyday thing, something that even though it is done ritually still holds lots of weight. Another question that comes with this is why does Lowe band everyday if he is so fascinated with his breasts? What significance does the band have to his life? Is this a symbol for his original identity being stripped of him? Is this band a symbolism of a band and blindfolded-ness and not understanding what is going on? Because of the close attention to detail in this passage, I would conclude that Lowe’s fascination with his breasts has more significance than just an everyday ritual.