This idea is systematically integrated into Faulks' writing from the beginning, initially through Bérard's song when, “he fixed his eyes on Madame Azaire, who was of forehead... She blushed and squirmed under his impassive gaze.” Faulks intentionally turns this minor event into a symbolic metaphorical battle, using Bérard's domineering behavior as a physical manifestation of Isabelle's oppression. Faulks places the two characters "face to face", creating two distinct sides of the conflict and also implying an equality that is completely disregarded, showing his lack of freedom. The combative tone is enhanced by the assonance of the “fixed” eyes that are “fixed” on Isabelle, creating in Bérard an almost bestial quality reminiscent of a creature circling its prey. The erotic connotations of Bérard's physical and mental bullying create a grotesque image of Isabelle's violation, reinforcing her oppression. Likewise, Bérard's singing is, perversely, a serenade for Isabelle, subverting a romantic gesture into a verbal assault, which illuminates Azaire's subsequent physical beating of his wife in their bedroom, the setting of both the both Azaire's impotence and Isabelle's sensual power. Faulks' violent and hyperbolic lexical focus shows how even a minimal loss of freedom can cause untold suffering. He distills this suffering into a moment of physical and mental degradation when Isabelle is violated by Azaire, exemplifying the model of escalating suffering that Faulks applies throughout.