Joe does not feel anything for Jed and at the start he tries to take a direct approach by telling him “I’ve met you once before and I can tell you now that I have no feelings for you either way...” this shows that Joe knows Jed has an unhealthy obsession with him and needs to let Jed know what he feels before it gets worse. However Jed does not want to accept it as he says “Please don’t do this...it doesn’t have to be this way, honestly. You don’t have to do this to me.” This is a strange statement to say to someone who has to relation with you as it is almost what a couple would say to each other if they were to break up. Jed clearly has an obsession with Joe and does not want to let him go no matter what. His behaviour from being upset changes as he “crossed his arms and adopted a worldly, man-to-man tone.” This shows he has become angry and the situation has become more intense. Jed soon starts throwing accusations as Joe by saying “Look. You don’t have to go about it like this. You could save us both the misery.” He is trying to trap Joe into thinking it is all entirely his fault and Jed didn’t do anything but return the love that Joe supposedly has for him. This is a manipulative statement as he is trying to tell Joe what he did. Jed’s emotion soon changed again as he became less fierce and more and more upset, “Parry put his hands over his face and started to cry.” This quick emotion change which is almost in an instance shows that Jed is in an unhealthy state and does not know what to do. The fact that Joe and Jed are almost strangers and Jed has started to tell him he loves him and cried because Joe doesn’t feel the same way shows that Jed has created a relationship in his mind between the two of them.
Joe does not know how to react to this so he tells Jed he has to go but Jed tries to make him stay by saying Oh God” in a wailing tone. This reference to god shows that Jed thinks god was the one who told him to love Joe. This can make Joe feel uncomfortable as he does not believe in god and prefers a more logical approach to things. Jed was “Crying” at the and now he is “wailing” this shows he has no lack of control over his emotions. Joe asks Jed to leave him alone. Jed’s emotion changes again as he becomes bitter, “you’re not even trying to be convincing. That’s what’s so insulting about it”. These quick emotional changes are recognised by Joe as he says “What was so exhausting about him was the variety of his emotional states and the speed of their transition.” This is key to Jed’s character as it shows the inconsistency in Jed’s nature. Joe can clearly see this but does not walk away, “his intensity held me for the moment and I had just sufficient curiosity to echo him”. This could give Jed mixed emotions as he could believe that Joe has some sort of feeling towards him. However this is untrue as Joe is a logical person and likes to solve puzzles. Joe is intrigued by Jed’s unhealthy obsession and would want to know why he has claimed to of fallen in love with him. Jed describes the love he feels as “pure energy, pure light.” This shows Jed’s definition of love and that what he feels is a genuine feeling.
Jed soon goes on to try and convince Joe that they are meant to be together, he does this by referring to god. “The purpose is to bring you to the Christ that is in you and that is you. That’s what the gift of love is about.” This reference to god shows that Jed believes god told him that is meant to be with Joe. As Joe does not believe in god, this kind of statement to make him feel uncomfortable and give him the impression that Jed is trying to make him believe in something that is clearly very important to him. Joe soon has enough of listening to Jed talk and confronts him by saying “You keep using the world love. Are we talking about sex? Is that what you want?” This clearly shows that Joe has had enough of Jed’s emotional outbursts and wants to get right to the point about what he is really feeling. Jed responses by claiming that his “feelings are not important”, Jed is almost claiming that Joe is the one who has the feelings and Jed is only reacting to them. Jed almost feels confused about what is going on between the two of them and may not even now his own emotions I can see this as he says, “The language Parry was using set off responses in me, old emotional sub-routines.” This shows that Joe may have some sort of attachment to him and could be bisexual, however the fact that he is married to a woman shows that when he was younger he may of been in a confusion about his sexuality.
Throughout the chapter McEwan presents a power struggle between Jed and Joe and presents this idea in various ways. There are references to power throughout the chapter as Jed asks if it is “about control” and insists that Joe’s “got all the power”. This alerts the read to the power struggle between the two of him that is occurring. McEwan uses a contrast to the descriptions of Jed’s posture and stance with Joe’s to highlight Joe’s power of Jed. As Jed stood under the tree he let his arms “droop”, this is a gesture of weakness or victimization. Jed’s mind contrasts with Joe as he later tries to make “Make [himself] taller” intentionally. This change of a physically stature shows the idea of height being a sign of power.
Towards the end of the chapter the reader can see that Jed is an extremely emotional man as he is always making references to how he feels and tries to get Joe to open up and talk about his feelings “I want you to open yourself up to...”. This shows Jed’s manipulative personality as it is a way of attempting to get closer to Joe. He makes Joe curious about what he wants and uses this as a chance to try and persuade Joe to open to his emotions and love him. At the end of the chapter he does this by using Clarissa. When talking about his and Joe’s future he mentions Clarissa, “Clarissa. It’s best to deal with this head on”. He knows he has the power to jeopardise their relationship so he uses this to his advantage. In Jed’s mind there is a three-way relationship between himself, Joe and Clarissa and he feels he needs to cut out Clarissa in order for him to obtain power over Joe.
