“It was the unwelcome misgivings with which it finally dawned on me, both then and during our casual conversation by the train tracks, that I had all along, without seeming to, without even admitting it, already been trying—and failing—to win him over.”

This quote emphasizes the process of falling in love as a coming-of-age story of self-discovery. Elio often has moments such as the one highlighted in this quote, in which it occurs to him later that his feelings for Oliver are complex and built from passion. Elio does not characterize himself as self-conscious until he meets Oliver. The desire to please Oliver and to win him over is new for Elio, so he is mostly unconscious of his motivations to engage Oliver in certain types of conversations. What seems casual to Elio is actually a performance to get Oliver to like him. What’s more, this quote highlights that Elio doesn’t want to admit his feelings for Oliver at first.

“P.S. We are not written for one instrument alone; I am not, neither are you.”

This quote is pulled from Elio’s journal as his love for Oliver begins. This quote takes on a metaphorical meaning. Just as Elio understands that people can play more than one instrument, so too does he understand sexuality and identity as spectrums. Neither Elio nor Oliver is necessarily tied to one instrument of sexual desire or one instrument of personhood. This fluidity is an important part of the human experience.