"On the floor behind the chair there were two intersecting shadows, one blacker and denser, the other faint and gray. The armchair's back and pointed legs cast a clear shadow on the floor, but there was no shadow from Varenukha's head above the chair back, nor was there any shadow from his feet beneath his legs," (pg. 131). -Could be an allusion to the secret police and how anonymous, mysterious, and terrifying they were during this time.