Alienation and Belonging

Characters experience profound alienation—Exodus as an immigrant, Ova as a neglected child, and the 'human cylinders' in urban dusk—yearning for connection amid the isolating machinery of modern society.

By denying possession and rule, the poem suggests that true belonging lies in equality and intensity, rejecting the alienation of hierarchy and ownership.

The old lady and her daughter are alienated from the vibrant Italian life around them, their sterile existence contrasting with the 'wanton Italian matrons' and the natural world.

The English observer feels detached from the 'messiness' of Italian life, highlighting a sense of not belonging.

Depicts alienation through the narrator's detachment from male discourse and the surreal, disconnected imagery of the café and department store.