3. Why does Teo break protocol and visit Dhavir? What is motivating her to see the donor? What does she and he gain by meeting? Why does the Ministry of Health want to keep them apart? What are the risks of their meeting?
Teo had a singular goal which was to meet her organ donor. Even though this was against protocol and despite her numerous attempts of finding the identity of the organ donor, which was met with great resistance by the authorities, there was ‘never the question of abandoning the effort’. This relentless determination to meet her organ donor indicated that identifying and meeting the donor was of great importance to her. A part of him was to be a part of her body, an ‘interlocking piece’. The donation of his cerebellum would enable her to function again. To Teo, Dhavir is not just a mere organ donor, but more importantly, a human being – a personality she ‘had to know’. She needs to acknowledge him. Her first attempt is to identify him, is to know his name. And when she is denied this, her visit to him acknowledges who he is. Consider how she says his name with great care. What is gained by this visit is the showing of gratitude and the acknowledgement of Dhavir which is what motivates her. Note the title INTERLOCKING PIECES suggests that Dhavir’s cerebellum is very much part of who Teo is which is why identifying him is so crucial to her understanding and acceptance. She runs great risk for the opportunity of ‘what could be said, learned, shared in that little time’.
Marion Zimmer Bradley’s “Elbow Room”
2. As the narration continues, what becomes the central question and crisis, the conflict of the narrative?
The setting of the story – Vortex station Checkout – provides the ideal backdrop for the existential angst the protagonist undergoes. She sees herself successfully and happily placed as the Station programmer, the boss under whom everyone else is placed. She quite likes the fact that they are placed there to serve on her personal needs. The prerequisite personality trait of seeking a solitary life has afforded her the position of Station programmer. She avoids personal contact with the others on board the station. She seeks seclusion to the extent that she is unsure of how many people are on board with her, she is ‘never quite sure’ if it is four or five or six. The title ‘Elbow Room’ is significant to the central question and crisis of the plot. The station provides her with elbow room for what purpose? The space and solitary existence the Station programmer leads her to questioning the existence of God and the others. She questions, for example, whether Father Nicholas is ‘real’ or merely a program that was created to answer her questions. Julian, the only other person she admits into her space, is referred to using the personal pronoun ‘my’. However, even his identity becomes clouded as she considers the possibility of him being an android or just an extension of her. The question of if we are cut off from other peoples’ society, to what detriment is that to us, becomes central to our appreciation of the narrative. After her sexual encounter with the captain, she is plagued by ‘disquieting thoughts’. She feels deceived by Julian and her situation. She finds solace in meditation and God; and through the elbow room afforded her she finds peace. She admits at the end ‘they knew that I need elbow room’.
