re: the Vaseline bit some people are pondering, I think it can go two ways if we're being strictly literal-.
Vaseline can be sort of like lotion in that it'll soften your skin (if you've read Of Mice and Men, you might recall Curley wearing a glove filled with Vaseline to soften his left hand). from experience (I'm guilty of skin-biting/tearing), it's a LOT more tempting to "indulge" when the skin is already torn because it makes it easier to and also because it's overall frustrating to have skin that isn't "smooth" or unbitten.
Vaseline can heal the damage. this is an effort to erase the evidence and prevent future damage.
in a broader sense, the narrator's tried just about everything to stop because s/he acknowledges it's destructive and unattractive, but everything's failed them and only opened up a new avenue to indulge.
re: the Vaseline bit some people are pondering, I think it can go two ways if we're being strictly literal-.
Vaseline can be sort of like lotion in that it'll soften your skin (if you've read Of Mice and Men, you might recall Curley wearing a glove filled with Vaseline to soften his left hand). from experience (I'm guilty of skin-biting/tearing), it's a LOT more tempting to "indulge" when the skin is already torn because it makes it easier to and also because it's overall frustrating to have skin that isn't "smooth" or unbitten.
Vaseline can heal the damage. this is an effort to erase the evidence and prevent future damage.
in a broader sense, the narrator's tried just about everything to stop because s/he acknowledges it's destructive and unattractive, but everything's failed them and only opened up a new avenue to indulge.