The Rememberer

“He is shedding a million years a day.”

This is a dramatic statement that increases the story’s sense of urgency. If Ben’s reverse evolution is happening this quickly, the reader knows Annie doesn’t have much time left with him.

“At first, people called on the phone and asked me where was Ben. Why wasn’t he at work? Why did he miss his lunch date with those clients? […] I told them he was sick, a strange sickness, and to please stop calling. The stranger thing was, they did.”

How quickly Ben’s colleagues stop reaching out to express their concern over his absence shows how isolated Annie becomes, reflecting one of the burdens of being his caretaker, a key theme of the story.

“His out-of-print special-ordered book on civilization had arrived at the bookstore, would he please pick it up?”

Ben ordering an out-of-print book on civilization just before he begins his reverse evolution reflects his obsession with the problems of the modern world. The fact that he ordered a book no longer in print also conveys his mistrust of current technology. He wants access to a book that is hard to get, most likely researched and written decades before the internet was accessible to everyone.

“He was always sad about the world. It was a large reason why I loved him. We’d sit together and be sad and think about being sad and sometimes discuss sadness.”

While many would find Ben’s melancholy state of mind too troubling to be attractive, Annie loves him all the more for his sad nature and does her best to cheer him. This detail helps characterize her as a sensitive and caring partner.

“On his last human day, he said, ‘Annie don’t you see? We’re all getting too smart. Our brains are just getting bigger and bigger, and the world dries up and dies when there’s too much thought and not enough heart.’”

Ben is sinking into hopelessness. His worries have become all-consuming, foreshadowing that his problems will soon consume Annie too.

“I took him in my arms and made love to him, my sad man […]. Afterward, we went outside again; there was no moon and the night was dark.”

After earlier descriptions of Ben and Annie staring up at a sky full of bright stars, the atmosphere in the story changes. The moonless, dark night signals that the turning point in the story is about to occur, and that life for Annie is about to become much bleaker.

“He said he hated talking and just wanted to look into my eyes and tell me things that way.”

On Ben’s last day as a person, he is already displaying fewer human qualities. He no longer wishes to communicate verbally, and simply stares at Annie, foreshadowing the way he will look at her once he becomes an ape.

“We sat on the lawn together and ripped up the grass. I didn’t miss the human Ben right away; I wanted to meet the ape too, to take care of my lover like a son, a pet.”

The depth of Annie’s feelings for Ben is clear. Initially, she chooses to be his caretaker, regardless of the form he takes. There is a selflessness to Annie’s character that is developed and displayed in this scene.

“I wanted to know him every possible way but I didn’t realize he wasn’t coming back.”

Just as someone caring for a sick loved one hopes for their recovery and often won’t allow themselves to imagine a different outcome, for some time, Annie feels certain that Ben will become human again. This belief influences how she treats both Ben and herself.

“I pace the halls. I chew whole packs of gum in mere minutes.”

The stress of being Ben’s caretaker is becoming too much for Annie to bear. She has reached a turning point and will soon have to choose between her sense of obligation and her love for Ben.

“I review my memories and make sure they’re still intact because if he’s not here, then it is my job to remember.“

The significance of the title is revealed in this line. A deeply responsible person, when Annie realizes she can no longer take care of Ben, she commits to him in another way, vowing to always remember him.

“‘Ben,’ I whisper, ‘do you remember me? Do you remember?’”

Annie’s question reflects the pain of being a caregiver. Soon after asking it, she finally allows herself to see the truth that Ben has no idea who she is any longer.

“Sometimes I think he’ll wash up on shore. A naked man with a startled look. Who has been to history and back.”

One of Annie’s best qualities, her hopefulness, is also her tragic flaw. She has let go of Ben physically, but not emotionally. The story closes with her still searching, every day, for human Ben.