When I was reading the novel I was confused with the idea of death and misery that Djuna Barnes presents in Nightwood. For example, Barnes writes “We are but skin about a wind, with muscles clenched against mortality. We sleep in a long reproachful dust against ourselves. We are full to the gorge with our own names for misery. Life, the pastures in which the night feeds and prunes the cud that nourishes us to despair. Life, the permission to know death.” When I read this quote I don’t quite know to interpret it as one of the meanings that I find to the quote is that only by living we can die and so after one will experience the misery of death. However, I also interpreted this quote as life been the permission to know the true peace that death brings after a lifetime of suffering. Overall, my confusion is on whether the novel wants to portray life as a misery that will prepare you the greatness of death or the opposite meaning that death is the misery that life gives “permission to know.”
I think the purpose of the story is to portray confusion as the main character Robin is confused about her life. Robin’s confusion of life and especially her identity is interconnected with our confusion while reding the book. I think as we read the book, the interpretation of Death and Misery would depend on us. For example, we can say by changing relationships, Robin might find he true happiness at the end. On the other hand, we can say Robin is unhappy with herself and that is why she is very unstable in relationships and even if she keeps changing relationships she will never be happy. The interpretation depends on the readers since the ending of this story is open ended.