Reflection on Break it Down and the River Merchant's Wife

MID-TERM: BREAK IT DOWN, AND THE RIVER MERCHANT'S WIFE
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INSTITUTION:
Break It Down by Lydia Davis shifts the reader's understanding of the essay from money and sex to love by describing the feelings of the past ten days of the man and woman's excursion and a small amount of description of the future. The story begins with the man trying to figure out the cost of ten days of sex with a strange woman. The man's inner monologue unfolds in the process of calculation. From the beginning, the reader realizes that the man and the woman are not lovers. Still, their relationship is based on sex. Gradually, the man's monologue begins to focus on the delicate inner feelings he has had with the woman during the past ten days. In the past, the man believes that the woman's touch and smile are gradually cumulative, awakening his sexual desire for women. After that, even while sleeping, the man still thinks that the woman's company brings him joy and is worth paying. By describing the man's inner feelings over the past ten days, the reader can gradually surmise that the man is not just concerned with whether the sexual relationship with the woman is worth the total $1000 spent, but that the man has developed a deep love for the woman, and that this love is worth $1000. In addition, there is a brief description of the future in this story. The man believes that in the future, after separating from the woman and ending the sexual relationship, he will still remember the romantic relationship. The description of the nostalgia for the sexual relationship that the man will have in the future ...