The Limitations of the Flesh

Kennaston's physical body—fat, aging, and awkward—is portrayed as a prison that hinders his spiritual and artistic aspirations, emphasizing the gap between human frailty and the soul's desires.

Vanringham laments his base deeds and the flesh's frailty, yearning for a clean life he cannot attain.

Kennaston's inability to touch Ettarre highlights the boundary between the dream world and physical reality.

Kennaston meditates on the isolation imposed by the five senses and the physical brain, questioning the possibility of genuine communication.

The alchemist's quest for eternal life underscores humanity's struggle against mortality, a central limitation of the flesh.