Anita de Monte Laughs Last

Most of the characters in this novel, even those who are peripheral to the narrative, are active in New York City’s art world in some way. Anita, Jack, and Nick are all artists, while Nick’s family is influential in the behind-the-scenes sphere of boards and donors. Raquel and many of her friends study art history, and Raquel’s mother works at the Met. Art is therefore a major focal point within the novel. Thus, the artworks described in Anita de Monte Laughs Last become more than descriptive imagery, for they represent the novel’s key themes in important ways. Both Jack’s work and Nick’s early pieces represent their identities as privileged, white male artists and therefore highlight The Damaging Impact of Toxic Masculinity. For example, Jack’s work reflects an angular style, and he makes use of heavy materials that are meant to project a solid, stalwart sense of the masculine. Although he achieves stardom in his lifetime, his best received works are the ones that Anita’s spirit deliberately alters; she softens them, adding feminine shapes and touches, and in so doing, adds the depth and meaning that his other works lacked.