Larry’s renunciation begins in the air corps when he first experiences union with something greater than himself. This takes place high above the world with no one else around him. When he sees death close at hand, he can’t reconcile those two experiences: Union with the Infinite is complete separation from the world, while death is the inescapable grip of the world. Larry sets out to discover how those two experiences can exist in the same universe. At that point, he doesn’t even know what he seeks. He begins by trying to understand the world and himself, accumulating knowledge from books and traveling, trying out different experiences. The underlying theme of his search is that he is always moving on, renouncing places, jobs, and intimate relationships in favor of his quest.

Throughout the story, Larry renounces intimate relationships, first merely by not seeking them out. Isabel initiates their courtship. Ellie and Suzanne initiate sex. Even when Larry seeks out a sexual relationship with the Spanish woman, he takes care to choose someone with whom there is no possibility of profound emotional intimacy. Larry talks about chastity as essential to spiritual freedom. He once remarks to Maugham that for him, sex is a pleasure but not a necessity.