The Time Traveler's Wife

Henry is one of the novel’s two main characters. He is a Chrono Displaced Person, meaning he time travels. Others see Henry’s reality as chaotic and unbelievable. Over the course of his life, he develops predilections in line with the deviance of his time travels. He likes punk music, and as a younger man consumes alcohol and drugs.

Annette’s death is the pivotal moment in his life. Without trying to, he frequently revisits the scene of the automobile accident. This reflects how people experience trauma. In memory, we often return to visceral events, even when we don’t want to. Henry, being a time traveler, does so literally.

For Henry, time is nonlinear. He visits himself as a child, and meets his daughter well after he dies. Seeing the future frees him from the uncertainties others might feel when thinking of the future. At the same time, he is restricted by the knowledge that he can’t change his fate.

As the novel jumps around in time, we see different versions of Clare. However, her patience and idealism are generally constant. At times, this may seem like denial, such as when she miscarries and refuses to face Henry’s death.

Clare’s life presents the conundrum of