Grey eyes

The novel was of little interest, yet critics and in turn academics became obsessed with one point. 26 times the protaganist's wife is described with green eyes and on one occassion with grey eyes. As little is known of his life, a great deal of speculation has arisen. The predominant theory, his wifes eyes were green and the eyes of his mistress were grey. This is a result of believing the novel has strong autobiographical undertones.

There exists a real temptation to go down this path, take a suspicion, turn it into a fact and build a monumental work and more importantly make a fortune on the basis of a suspiscion.