Immediately after this we see another negative aspect of the narrator’s personality. “I don’t know how she resisted the urge to run.” This statement could be taken in two ways. Firstly the narrator could be implying that the incident he is about to describe was so intense that he didn’t know how anyone could resist the urge to help like he is doing. This implies that the narrator is in a way almost fond of a drama like this, as it gives him the opportunity to “act the hero”, as it were.
The second way that the statement could be taken is in a sexist disparaging way against Clarissa. The narrator appears to be implying that he is unsure how Clarissa resisted the urge to see what is going on or to help, almost implying that she is interfering in other circumstances or that she is uncaring. The fact that he has not mentioned her name since the start of the passage, instead referring to her as; “she,” also gives us the impression that he sees Clarissa as inferior to himself.
He continues with his criticism of Clarissa describing her as being; “Well placed as an observer,” and; “Unencumbered by participation.” This is essentially describing her as someone frivolous and unconcerned with the welfare of others.
We begin to feel a little more empathy for the narrator when he turns his critical eye upon himself; “By our fatal lack of co-operation.” This gives us the impression that however critical he is of Clarissa he feels that the incident is more his fault then hers. His disparagement of Clarissa may in fact be chiefly to make himself feel that the incident was not entirely his fault and that perhaps if others had become more involved their; “fatal lack of Co-operation,” may not have mattered as much
The narrator then invokes further sympathy from us when he describes his, “Obsessive re-examination that followed.” This shows us how deeply effected the narrator was by the accident that took place and gives us the feeling that he has a deeper under layer to the pompous character we are first introduced to.
The closing section of the passage again gives us the impression that the narrator is a deep thinker. “The aftermath, an appropriate term for what happened in a field waiting for its early summer mowing. The aftermath, the second crop, the growth promoted by that first cut in may.” The narrator describes the aftermath by a, metaphor showing that he has thought deeply about what has happened. This shows an almost obsessive quality in the narrator implying that he will keep going over the story until it at last makes sense to him
Throughout this passage the author Ian McEwan gives the narrator several different characteristics that are shown through different points. Although the passage is quite short McEwan shows a pompous arrogant side to the narrator as well as touching upon the fact that this could only be a protective layer to the narrators self doubt and vulnerability.