It was a source of both terror and comfort to me then that I often seemed invisible - incompletely and minimally existent, in fact. It seemed to me that I made no impact on the world, and that in exchange I was privileged to watch it unawares.
In Marilynne Robinson's novel "Housekeeping," the narrator expresses a complex sense of identity, feeling both insignificant and liberated by their perceived invisibility. This duality becomes a source of both fear and solace; it allows the narrator to observe the world around them without feeling the need to engage or alter it. The lack of impact on the world brings a sense of freedom, as they can witness life unfold from a...