Memory and the Past Quotes in The Time Traveler's Wife

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

[Clare:] Sometimes I would give anything to open up Henry's brain and look at his memory like a movie. I remember when I first learned to use a computer; […] I wanted to push my hands though the screen and get the real thing in there, whatever it was. I like to do things directly, touch the textures, see the colors. (1.9.44)

Clare muses on how memories are intangible, which makes her wish she could somehow touch them or grasp them – the act of touching things makes them become real to her.

Quote #8

[Henry:] Today is the thirty-seventh anniversary of my mother's death. […] If fervent memory could raise the dead, she would be our Eurydice, she would rise like Lady Lazarus from her stubborn death to solace us. (2.28.3)

Henry's memories of his mother are so strong and immediate that it's difficult for him to believe that she's dead.

Quote #9

[Clare:] I am conducting conversations with Henry as though he were here with me, as though he could see through my eyes, think with my brain. (3.3.8)

Clare misses Henry so much that she conducts conversations with him about the present so she can keep sharing her life with him and continue to create memories with him.