Giovanni's Room: Moorings and Anchors

"I looked out at the narrow street...heavy with people-people I would never understand. I ached abruptly, intolerably, with a longing to go home...home across the ocean, to things and people I knew and understood; to those things, those places, those people which I would always, helplessly, and in whatever bitterness of spirit, love above all else. I had never realized such a sentiment in myself before and it frightened me. I saw myself, sharply, as a wanderer, and adventurer, rocking through the world, unanchored" (62).

In my last post I talked about moorings, the idea that humans try to anchor themselves down because they are afraid of really being free without rules or guidelines for their lives. David says that this is why he attached himself to Hella, for a mooring. However, once he realizes that he cannot emotionally anchor himself to her, or to any other woman for that matter, David feels this uncontrollable floating feeling. He has become unanchored; he is free from all other humans. This concept also reminds me of Sputnik Sweetheart. David has become that satellite, drifting through outer space, only coming across those he knows and doesn't know as he travels on his orbit alone. If he does not accept his love for Giovanni, he will be forever free floating, without a mooring.