V. Final Thoughts

In both The Body Artist and Tristan and Isolde, DeLillo and Gottfried extensively discuss the theme of distance, which is irrevocably linked to the notions of communication and technology. In these works, a similar pattern, with regards to distance, can be identified. The characters’ communication outlines their initial relationship. This relationship, embedded in the idea of distance, is altered by means of technology. Then, a new relationship to distance is forged, and the characters use methods of communicating to discover what this relationship means to them. At the end of both narratives, the protagonists have explored the boundaries of physical and psychological distance. And in both instances, their concept of distance has changed them forever.