Hoarding Life

 I noticed on page 39, near the end of Jinny's monologue for that particular female-narrated-block, her statement that she had "not yet broken into [her] hoard." This statement stuck out enough that when she said on page 45 "I now break into my hoard of life" I went back searching through her monologue sections and noticed that three of her four monologues in the second "chapter" (as it is), involved her thinking about men, being singled out by them and having them declare their love or, as is the case in the last section, lust.

Yet the "hoard of life" is not brought up until the third monologue so what significance can we place on it? Considering that having a hoard requires storing something over a long period of time, it seems odd that it is introduced so late. Yet to make things slightly stranger, she says she has 50-60 years of life ahead. Perhaps the hoard is simply referring to all the time of her life that she has. While such a reading is still totally valid, then the hoard should have included the 12-16 years worth of life which she seems to have lived by this point. And she certainly seems to have been "living" more than Susan and Rhoda, since their monologues paint her as being very physically active or seeking approval. More likely the simplest explanation is that the hoard is a reference to liberation from the confines of school, which all the female characters and some of the male characters all seem to revile. This has some rather unpleasant connotations for those male characters who are headed to Oxford, and Edinburgh (though Louis, who is entering the work-force doesn't seem particularly thrilled at the prospect of freedom).

Finally, it is worth noting that the fact that the "hoard" only survives one time skip before being "broken open", seems to imply that Jinny only came up with the idea recently within the time frame of the novel. The fact that she declares it is being open shortly after a none-to-subtle discussion of mutual physical appreciation between her and another passenger, it seems highly likely that the idea of the "hoard of life" is heavily wrapped up in developing sexuality and entering adult society.