Could this be an asexual character? (Ellen Ash from "Possession" by A. S. Byatt)

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So, I was reading this book called "Possession" by A. S. Byatt and, all of a sudden, towards the end, there was a description of the way one of the characters feels about sex. Specifically, she thinks about her honeymoon with her husband and, to me, the whole page screamed "asexuality" on her side. Or, rather, sex-repulsion which, I would imagine, is more common amongst asexuals. Here are the quotes that give off an ace vibe: 

 

Spoiler

    "She remembered her honeymoon, as she did, from time to time, and deliberately.

 

    She did not remember it in words. There were no words attached to it, that was part of the horror. She had never spoken of it to anyone, not even to Randolph, precisely not to Randolph.

 

    She remembered it in images. A window, in the south, all hung about with vines and creepers, with the hot summer sun fading.

   

    The nightdress embroidered for these nights, white cambric, all spattered with lovers' knots and forget-me-nots and roses, white on white.

 

    A thin white animal, herself, trembling.

   

    A complex thing, the naked male, curly hairs and shining wet, at once bovine and dolphin-like, its scent feral and overwhelming.

 

    A large hand, held out in kindness, not once, but many times, slapped away, pushed away, slapped away.

 

    A running creature, crouching and cowering in the corner of the room, its teeth chattering, its veins clamped in spasms, its breath shallow and fluttering. Herself.

 

    A respite, generously agreed, glasses of golden wine, a few days of Edenic picnics, a laughing woman perched on a rock in pale blue poplin skirts, a handsome man in his whiskers, lifting her, quoting Petrarch.

   

    An attempt. A hand not pushed away. Tendons like steel, teeth in pain, clenched, clenched.

 

    The approach, the locked gateway, the panic, the whimpering flight.

 

    Not once, but over and over and over.

 

    When did he begin to know that however gentle he was, however patient, it was no good, it would never be any good?

 

    She did not like to remember his face in those days, but did, for truthfulness, the puzzled brow, the questioning tender look, the largeness of it, convicted of its brutality, rejected in its closeness.

 

    The eagerness, the terrible love, with which she had made it up to him, his abstinence, making him a thousand small comforts, cakes and tidbits. She became his slave. Quivering at every word. He had accepted her love.

 

    She had loved him for it.

 

    He had loved her."

 

   The book says that during the entirety of their marriage they never had sex. Truthfully, when I first read this I wondered whether she had been raped but it says she's a virgin so probably not, or at the very least, no such thing is implied. Her fear of sex is not explained in any way. So, my personal interpretation is that she's asexual.

 

What do you think? Have you read this book? (I recommend it, regardless of the possible ace rep.) If yes, did you notice this? Share your thoughts. 😊