Moon Tiger

Moon Tiger contrasts linear time with lived time, arguing that lived time merges with memory to create a simultaneous, multi-faceted experience, while linear time is the simplified approach to documented history.

The novel’s unconventional structure reflects the contrast between linear and lived time. A conventional novel would detail events from one perspective in chronological order from beginning to end. In contrast, Moon Tiger presents chapters that are each a series of vignettes relating to a concept or triggered by an experience of present-day Claudia. As the novel unfolds, Claudia visits and revisits particular moments in her life, jumping non-chronologically from one to the next. This stream-of-consciousness structure imitates lived time. Claudia’s experiences in the hospital (in the present) trigger memories of her own experiences alongside memories of historical facts; these micro- and macro-level memories all layer on top of each other in Claudia’s mind, unfolding along different paths simultaneously. The novel thus characterizes lived time as the sensation of being a mind experiencing time, such that all kinds of thoughts and memories are happening at once. Linear time, in contrast, is the objective or documented sequence of events unfolding one after another.

Both Tom and Claudia express interest in the concept of linear versus lived time, emphasizing the way their memories of the past don’t unfold like movies but rather exist as a jumble of intense moments. In one instance, reflecting on a weekend spent with Tom in Cairo, Claudia uses vivid imagery to convene the thought: “The day is refracted, and the next, and the one after that, all of them broken up into a hundred juggled segments, each brilliant and self-contained so that the hours are no longer linear but assorted like bright sweets in a jar” (107-8). Here, the protagonist summarizes the novel’s thematic approach to linear time versus lived time: Lived time is our minds’ subjective understanding of linear time, as we don’t experience life, the novel contends, in a straight line. Elsewhere, in another use of vivid imagery, Claudia imagines that lived time is “kaleidoscopic.” She decides that she’d like her “history of the world” to reflect lived time (1), rather than taking the standard linear approach. “Chronology,” she claims, “irritates me” (2). This irritation emphasizes the contrast between the two. Claudia, ever the passionate advocate of her own opinion, wants her final historical endeavor to reflect what it was like to live her life inside her own mind.

Lively takes advantage of the unique structure of Moon Tiger to explore the subjective nature of memory. The author often presents the same scene from multiple perspectives, introducing subtle differences to emphasize the subjectivity of memory. The author also uses Claudia’s very personal approach to history to underscore how individual impressions can shape our memories as well as our recorded histories.

In several instances throughout the novel, Claudia’s memory of an event is followed by another character’s memory of the same event. Take, for example, the visit that Claudia pays to Plymouth with Gordon and Sylvia in Chapter 3. The author details the event first from Sylvia’s perspective, then Claudia’s, then Gordon’s. There are discrepancies in their memories. Sylvia asks for the windows to be closed because the wind is loud and ruining her hair. Claudia, however, recalls Sylvia going on like a child from the backseat. Sylvia thinks that she won’t break her diet by having any ice cream, yet Gordon remembers Sylvia saying that she wants to order some. Their impressions of the living history village differ as well, Sylvia noticing the air conditioning in the bathroom, Claudia the historical accuracy of the scenery. Although they were all there together, their experiences and memories vary—what they recall, emphasize, and pay attention to is subjective, guided by their personal interests and priorities. Another powerful example of such subjectivity plays out in the memories of Claudia’s shared time with Lisa. Claudia suspects Lisa of extreme dullness and often finds her young daughter’s company uninteresting. The scenes from Lisa’s perspective reveal an active imagination; Lisa is not dull, she just doesn’t behave like Claudia wants her to. Lively uses scenes such as these to emphasize the fallibility of not only Claudia but also of all memory. Memory, Lively asserts, is not objective documentation. It is subjective and experiential.

Lively uses Claudia’s unique perspective as a historian to reinforce the subjective nature of memory. The past is, according to Claudia, “deeply private. We all look differently at it. My Victorians are not your Victorians” (2). With observations like these, Claudia comments on the importance of interpretation when considering history (collective memory) or personal memories. Lively, speaking through Claudia’s voice, reminds the reader that personal bias is unavoidable.