The characters in Paul Bowles' "The Sheltering Sky" struggle with the concept of time due to their unconventional lifestyles. Neither the protagonist nor Port has experienced regularity in their lives, leading them to develop a distorted perception of time, seeing each year as indistinguishable from the last.

This mindset ultimately results in a dangerous complacency, as they believe that everything will eventually occur, which hints at a deeper existential theme of inevitability and disconnection from reality. Rather than viewing time as a structured progression, they treat it lightly, risking their ability to make meaningful choices.