Day

The novel opens with an introduction to the setting: an apartment in Brooklyn on a day in April 2019. On this day, “the first tentative signs of spring have arrived” (3), but “true spring—its hints of greenness, its awakening of stems and shoots—is weeks away” (4). This date is a metaphor for the events that will occur in the novel. Just as the weather is beginning to turn to spring—toward rebirth and renewal—but is not yet there, the characters in the novel are making monumental shifts in their lives. The notes of discontent in Isabel and Dan’s lives are present, if not yet acknowledged, and Robbie is on the verge of moving out of their home to quit his job and start a new career. Just as the weather has not yet fully transitioned to spring, the characters are beginning to change their lives—but do not yet make that commitment. This transitional space explores the novel’s deeper thematic concerns about love and attraction: While new beginnings and growth can emerge, the old structures, such as Dan and Isabel’s marriage, remain fragile. Their relationships, like the change from winter to spring, are subject to unpredictable shifts.

Michael Cunningham uses a shifting third-person omniscient or “all-knowing” point of view. In a work of psychological fiction, the point of view is used to give insight into the character’s thoughts, providing deep insight into their feelings at each moment. For example, when Robbie agrees to listen to Dan’s song, he tells Dan that he “Can’t wait,” then the narration reveals Dan’s thoughts: “Dan knows. Right, Robbie, you can’t wait. People think he doesn’t know. He allows them to think that. If he is loved, in part, for some sort of circus-bear cluelessness, it’s all right with him” (51). Previously, Isabel and Robbie discussed his comeback, with Isabel refusing to speak to him about it, because she did not want to encourage him. In their conversation, the word “comeback” is italicized to emphasize their ironic use of the term, with the narration stating that he used to be “the opening act for bands no one ever heard of” with “a single album that didn’t sell” (35). In the first interaction between Isabel and Robbie, Dan is characterized as someone who’s striving, hopelessly, to relive a fame that he never actually had; however, by revealing Dan’s thoughts, Cunningham conveys Dan’s understanding of how his comeback is viewed—and how little he cares for their support. While Dan’s comeback may still be a futile effort, he is not the “clueless” person that Isabel and Dan make him out to be—at least with regard to how he is perceived. Isabel’s efforts to withhold her support to not encourage him, therefore, hold no effect over Dan.

Through scenes like this, a central conflict in the novel between Dan and Isabel is revealed. As Dan and Robbie talk, Robbie thinks “Dan knows—does he know?—that Isabel is already preparing for departure. Maybe it’s only Robbie who knows about it, this soon. Isabel herself may not know, yet” (46). Robbie recognizes, perhaps even before Dan and Isabel, that there are issues with their relationship, foreshadowing their eventual divorce. Their conflict conveys the theme of Midlife Disillusionment, as Isabel is realizing how dissatisfied she is with their marriage. This disillusionment is closely linked to The Complexities of Love and Attraction as it highlights the emotional contradictions that sometimes arise in long-term partnerships, such as Isabel and Dan’s relationship. Isabel’s withdrawal from Dan signals an emotional and psychological shift in what was once a seemingly stable relationship. Her discontent stems not only from a sense of existential crises but from the recognition that love, as it once existed, has transformed, leaving behind an attraction to something that is no longer there. As a result, she spends much of her time on the stairs, a place which she describes as having a “neither-here-nor-there thing” (19). The stairs serve as a metaphor for Isabel’s position in life: She sits somewhere between her responsibilities of caring for her family and her commitment to Dan, and her desire to separate from Dan due to her unhappiness. While she may not be able to fully acknowledge this consciously at the time, Robbie identifies in her a dissatisfaction with the life she is living, realizing in her midlife that marriage to Dan and building a family is not truly what she desires. The stairs are similar to the changing seasons and the arrival of spring, as they both represent transitions.

Wolfe is introduced as a symbolic representation of what Isabel and Robbie want as they struggle with this dissatisfaction in their lives. As the two sit on the stairs, they discuss the “house in the country” that they were going to buy, with “a dozen rooms, a vegetable garden, and three or four dogs” (17). As Isabel confesses her guilt over forcing Robbie to move out and considers her “too-small apartment that was intended to be temporary” (20), she transplants her desires onto Wolfe, on whose Instagram they then post a picture of a country home he is considering buying. Throughout the novel, Robbie and Isabel use Wolfe’s social media to create a life that they wish they were living, as they battle their midlife disillusionment with the lives they have built. This exploration of “what could have been” through Wolfe highlights The Complexities of Love and Attraction—Wolfe embodies the idealized life that feels attainable yet distant. Love, in the context of both Robbie and Isabel’s lives, is not just about romantic relationships but also about longing for a life that feels fulfilling. Their shared invention of Wolfe is not merely escapism but a reflection of their emotional needs and how they use fantasy to cope with discontent in their own lives.

As Dan and Isabel drift apart from each other, the relationship between Dan and Robbie deepens. Isabel acknowledges that she and Dan “are in love with” Robbie (36)—the first time that Robbie remembers them using that phrase. Robbie realizes that, as Isabel drifts away from her marriage and children, he and Dan are becoming the primary caretakers to the children and are succeeding much better together than Dan is with Isabel. This revelation introduces the theme of The Complexities of Love and Attraction. As Robbie is on the verge of moving out, Dan and Isabel are realizing how much they rely on him in their home. More than that, though, Robbie notes that he “may love them better than they’re able to love each other” (36). Cunningham presents the only traditional, heteronormative relationship in the text—the marriage between Dan and Isabel—and complicates it, conveying the idea that traditional marriages, like all relationships, have their flaws. The relationship between Robbie and Dan further underscores the fluidity and complexity of attraction, as there is a deep bond between them that blurs traditional boundaries of friendship, familial love, and perhaps romantic attraction. Through this, the novel challenges the simplistic notions of love by showing how love between two men can exist outside of sexual attraction yet carry the same emotional weight and significance. He posits external help, support, and even love as a solution, even if temporary, to sustaining their relationship and family.