The dialogue in Ring Around the Moon is entirely social: it contains no soliloquies. Dialogue, as the word indicates, is always directed at someone, most often taking the form of persuasion, coercion, or attack. Recall the dialogue about money between Messerschmann and Isabelle, Hugo's numerous coercions of Romainville, Patrice, and Isabelle, and Diane's toying with Frederic. This is dialogue as manipulation.