Q1 - A Significant Passage

As I stepped outside, another door farther down the passage opened. I stopped, and stood still where I was. A young man came out, leading a fair-haired girl by the hand. As she stepped over the threshold he released his grasp.



"Wait just a minute, darling," he said.



He took three or four steps on the silencing carpet. His outstretched hands found the window which ended the passage. His fingers went straight to the catch and opened it. I had a glimpse of a low-railed, ornamental balcony outside.



"What are you doing, Jimmy?" she asked.



"Just making sure," he said, stepping quickly back to her and feeling for her hand again. "Come along, darling."



She hung back.



"Jimmy-- I don't like leaving here. At least we know where we are in our own apartment. How are we going to feed? How are we going to live?"



"In the apartment, darling, we shan't feed at all--and therefore not live long. Come along, sweetheart. Don't be afraid."



"But I am, Jimmy--I am."



She clung to him, and he put one arm round her.



"We'll be all right, darling. Come along."



"But Jimmy, that's the wrong way."



"You've got it twisted around, dear. It's the right way."



"Jimmy--I'm so frightened. Let's go back."



"It's too late, darling."



By the window he paused. With one hand he felt his position very carefully. Then he put both arms around her, holding her to him.



"Too wonderful to last, perhaps," he said softly. "I love you, my sweet. I love you so very, very much."



She tilted her lips up to be kissed.



As he lifted her he turned, and stepped out of the window.





This passage comes from page 68, and it is a scene that comes out the morning Bill and Josella decide to go out to find some clothes. Josella has already left, and Bill is coming out when he sees the young couple and their fate.


After this passage, there is a brief dialogue by Bill about how he must get used to the disastrous happenings that occur around him. The young man's suicide with his loved girl was a mentally critical hit to Bill. Until now, the deaths of people were not that much of a tragedy, mostly because Bill did not see anybody in the act of dying yet. However, this passage is about a man who chooses to die with his love, and does this in a swift, subtle act without informing her about her death that was to happen. The passionate love between the two people is shown vividly in their conversation, where signs of affection can be seen without spare.


It is incomprehensible to many people about how people can choose death, or the idea about dying with somebody you love. This passage represents both cases, and I really couldn't keep my mind off it.


Choosing death is an extremely difficult decision to make, and many people don't find the courage to do so. However, sometimes people choose to commit suicide. This act is done when the people feel utterly hopeless, and when they feel like nothing in the world could help them to feel better. Death is sometimes what people see as an eternal escape from pain.

Another rare event in the modern world is to die with someone who you love. Often people do not see why anybody would which to do such an act, but it happens. The philosophy behind joint suicides is simple: it is too heartbreaking for one person to leave behind the other in death. The very desire to die in the arms of someone who you truly love is a romantic, happy ending for those who think a life without their love is too cruel. Although it is hard to comprehend, it is a true opinion of some people.