I'm Thinking of Ending Things

The protagonist reflects on the fact that she has never broken up with past boyfriends before, so she is unsure of whether her doubts are normal for a relationship. Her past relationships were not strong enough to last beyond the initial period of getting to know one another. This causes the protagonist to consider she may be incapable of maintaining a long-term relationship: “Maybe instead of wondering about Jake, I should be questioning my ability to experience passion” (33).

Jake tells her a story of a night during his childhood when he saw Venus in the sky and was astonished no one around him seemed to care. They begin to discuss space. The protagonist enjoys when Jake explains scientific phenomena to her. Jake states there are no borders in space between the beginnings and ends of things, which makes it unknowable for humans. The protagonist is glad humans don’t know everything. She claims that questions, mystery, and not knowing are good, as they allow for conversation and connection between two people: “If you want to know more about life, how we work, how we progress, it’s questions that are important” (35). Jake laughs in surprise at her response and agrees he likes the idea that questions encourage connection between two people.