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Chapters 16-20Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 16 Summary
Katherine contracts the same flu as Michael and is sick for days, unable to get out of bed without assistance. Michael calls Katherine on Thursday to check in, and when they determine they are both getting better, Katherine asks if Michael can still come over that weekend. Michael is well enough to come over on Sunday, and they sit in the den, holding hands and catching up.
Katherine waits another week, the day of her birthday, before she tells Michael about beginning birth control. They attend a play to celebrate her birthday, and at dinner afterward, Michael presents Katherine with a necklace engraved with her name on one side and “Forever…Michael “ (134) on the other. Katherine begins to cry, and Michael fastens the necklace around her neck. She tells him it is the most meaningful gift she has ever received.
In the car, Katherine shows Michael her birth control pills. Katherine asks if Sharon and Ike will be away that weekend, and Michael says no, but that he will think of something. The next night, Michael picks up Katherine and tells her that his parents will be out until midnight, so they have a few hours to be alone together at his house.
Michael takes Katherine to his room when they arrive at his parents’ house, and Katherine looks around, noting how messy Michael is. She opens the door to his bathroom and looks through his cabinet, pulling out a bottle of aftershave. Michael puts some on his face, and Katherine asks if he has ever used the aftershave on his testicles. Michael becomes flirtatious and asks Katherine to try it out on him, unbuckling his belt, but when Katherine tries to apply the aftershave to him, he stops her and begins kissing her.
They have sex on the bathroom floor, and just as Katherine is about to orgasm, Michael orgasms first. They go to his bed, sleep for a while, and have sex again when they wake up. This time, Katherine experiences an orgasm and begins laughing because she cannot believe it. She asks Michael if they can have sex again immediately, but he tells her he must rest for a while. Michael falls asleep again, and Katherine watches him, thinking about how “he is really my best friend now” (141). At 10:30, they wake up hungry and shower together quickly before leaving to get dinner.
After dinner, Michael and Katherine go to her house and sit in the den, Katherine wishing they could go upstairs and fall asleep together. She wishes they could have sex again, but Michael says he is still too tired, and Katherine assumes it is because he is still getting over the flu.
Chapter 17 Summary
Katherine’s parents finalize plans for Jamie to attend a camp in New Hampshire for the summer while Katherine struggles to find a summer job. At school, Erica tells Katherine about her summer job at The Leader, a local newspaper, and shares the big news that Sybil is pregnant.
Erica explains that Sybil is too far along to have an abortion, and the baby is due in July. Sybil does not know who the father is, and she plans to go through with the pregnancy and give the baby up for adoption when it is born. Katherine says that if she were ever to get pregnant at this age, she would have an abortion, and Erica emphatically agrees. Erica shares that her mother, concerned after Sybil’s news, wants Erica to begin taking birth control so that she is prepared.
Later that day, Katherine sees her guidance counselor, who follows up about Katherine applying to college in Vermont. Katherine says that her parents would not give her permission and does not share that she and Michael have a plan to continue being together in the fall. Katherine plans to attend college in Denver, and Michael will take off the winter trimester from school to work at one of the Colorado ski resorts so that he and Katherine can be together every weekend. Katherine receives her college acceptance letters two days later and learns she was accepted to Penn State and Denver. Michael receives an acceptance letter from the University of Vermont.
Katherine shares her acceptance news with Erica, who tells her that Sybil has been accepted to every school she applied to. Katherine asks whether Artie has been accepted anywhere, and Erica tells her he has only been waitlisted at Temple University.
Katherine immediately accepts Denver’s proposal, despite her parents’ urgings that she take some time to consider her options. Only then does she share her and Michael’s plans, which displeases her parents.
Chapter 18 Summary
That week, Katherine’s father tells her that he has accepted a job on her behalf to teach tennis at Jamie’s summer camp. Katherine becomes angry and cries, accusing her father of trying to keep her and Michael apart. Her parents try to console her by reminding her that the camp is only seven weeks long, but Katherine is not swayed, and her parents grow frustrated with her attitude, telling her that she has no choice but to accept the job.
Katherine thinks about how she will break the news to Michael, thinking she might wait another week until his birthday, but decides she must tell him sooner. Michael, Artie, and Katherine go to Erica’s house that weekend while her parents are away to celebrate Michael’s birthday early. As they finish singing to him, Artie is morose, stating that “a quarter of our lives gone by…over…kaput” (155). Katherine tries to convince Artie to cheer up and not spoil the mood, and Artie agrees to play a game.
After the game, Michael and Katherine go to Erica’s guest room and have sex. Afterward, Katherine tells Michael that she will be away for the summer at the camp, and Michael surprises her by sharing that he, too, has a summer job at his uncle’s lumber yard in North Carolina. Katherine is hurt when Michael tells her that he has known for three weeks and kept this information secret from her, but they agree to make the most of the time they have left together.
Katherine tries to initiate sex again, but Michael is unable to perform and grows frustrated. They get dressed in awkward silence, and when they return to the living room, they see Erica and Artie sitting there, not speaking. Michael tells Artie they should go, and Michael leaves without kissing Katherine goodbye.
When the boys leave, Erica goes upstairs to her room and cries, explaining that she ended things with Artie. She reveals that Artie locked himself in her bathroom, threatening to kill himself, and Erica ran downstairs to get Michael and Katherine to help, but they were occupied in the bedroom. By the time Erica returned upstairs, Artie had already changed and pretended nothing had happened. Erica says that this was the final straw for her and that she told Artie she could not see him anymore. Erica says that Artie told her he understood and thanked her for her patience and kindness.
Chapter 19 Summary
On Michael’s birthday that week, Artie attempts suicide. His parents send him to a psychiatric hospital near Princeton to recover. Michael and Erica blame themselves for Artie’s attempt and struggle with guilt. Michael claims that he is to blame because, on the ride home from Erica’s, Artie wanted to talk, but Michael was “so wrapped up in [his] own problems” (162). Erica blames herself because Artie showed up at her house the next day and told him she meant what she said and did not want to see him anymore.
Katherine decides to give Michael his birthday present anyway, despite the current circumstances, and he, Katherine, and Erica go to a bar that night. Erica and Michael get very drunk, and Katherine has to drive them both home to her house. Her parents agree to let them spend the night so that they can recover safely.
Chapter 20 Summary
June arrives, and Katherine feels she is on the cusp of “the end of one life and the beginning of another” (164). Katherine cuts school to spend the day with Michael while his parents are out of town. They decide not to go to prom, which they originally planned to attend with Artie and Erica, and Artie’s parents tell Michael that he will not be home for graduation, but his friends can write cards for him. Katherine and her family celebrate her mother’s 40th birthday, and Katherine wishes that Artie could be there to see that life does not end when one reaches adulthood.
That night, Erica calls Katherine at 11:30 and tells her that Sybil gave birth to a healthy baby girl two weeks early. Katherine and Erica go to visit Sybil at the hospital the next day. Sybil tells them that giving birth was easy, nothing like what they see on television and in movies and that she plans to attend Smith College in the fall. She also shares that she will be getting an IUD so that she will not get pregnant again “because I’ve no intention of giving up sex” (168), but she wants to be prepared and ready the next time she gets pregnant.
Sybil asks if Katherine will be at Michael’s graduation later, and Katherine promises to clap for Sybil when her name is called. The girls make vague plans to go to the beach together when Sybil gets out of the hospital, and Sybil blows her nose, saying that she hopes her baby has a good life with her adoptive parents. Sybil abruptly asks Katherine if she and Michael are having sex, and Katherine tells her that it is a personal question.
Before they leave, Sybil says that while she could have had an abortion, she wanted the experience of giving birth and that the doctors are letting her see the baby one last time that evening before she begins her new life with her adoptive parents.
Chapters 16-20 Analysis
As an important theme in the text is the exploration of sexual identity, the text carefully depicts that exploration realistically, a journey with moments of self-discovery but also of self-doubt and disappointment. As Katherine realizes that sex is not always perfect, she learns to adjust her expectations regarding sex. The text emphasizes that sex does not happen seamlessly or perfectly the first time. The text is self-referential earlier on, as Katherine states: “I used to think if you read enough books you’d automatically know how to do everything the right way. But reading and doing are not the same at all” (112). Like many couples, Katherine and Michael struggle to reach mutual satisfaction during sex: “We made love on the bathroom rug, but just when I was getting really excited, Michael came. I wondered if it would ever work out right between us” (140). Katherine is understanding but does not shy away from her disappointment or anxiety that her sexual relationship with Michael will never progress past these fumbling encounters that leave her unsatisfied. It takes multiple attempts before Katherine can achieve orgasm, inviting the reader to adjust their expectations of sex and what sex is like in reality versus how it is depicted in other forms of media.
As important as this section of chapters is to Katherine’s sexual exploration and her relationship with Michael, it also introduces another of the challenges of first love as Katherine and Michael face the reality that they will be apart for most of the summer at different jobs. It is interesting that Blume chooses to introduce this complication into the relationship as soon as Katherine and Michael have sex, illustrating that at their age, their feelings for each other might be strong, but they are still too young to make some of their own decisions. While they have agency in what to do with their bodies, being minors living at home means they lack self-determination in other areas. Katherine is an example of this, as her father volunteers her to work as a tennis camp instructor for seven weeks that summer. Try as she might argue or even reason with her parents, Katherine realizes that the decision is not up to her: “We didn’t discuss the situation at home the next day or the day after that but it was understood that I would take the job at camp” (154). A difficult reality of young love is that despite its power, its actors are often at the mercy of forces outside of their control.
This section also introduces some of the darker sides of sexual exploration: its ramifications and how individuals can struggle to navigate their sexual identity when it falls outside of the established cultural norms. Artie is an example of this, as he attempts suicide in Chapter 19. Artie’s depression worsens throughout the text, partly due to his father’s refusal to allow him to attend the Academy of Dramatic Arts for college. Although never explicitly stated in the text, there are allusions to Artie being gay or otherwise struggling with his sexual orientation, which culminates in Erica breaking up with him.
Teen pregnancy is another possible outcome of sexual exploration, a topic explored through Sybil’s pregnancy. The novel’s view of teen pregnancy is decidedly without condemnation. Sybil can continue attending high school, graduate on time, and will attend the prestigious Smith College in the fall. Sybil’s teen pregnancy experience is that of a privileged person who can decide to give up the baby for adoption and still achieve her dreams. While the depiction of teen pregnancy may not be altogether realistic, it does important work in illustrating and arguing that teen pregnancy does not have to be the end of one’s life.
Sybil does a selfless thing in giving her baby girl to adoptive parents who can better take care of her, and in doing so, Sybil frees herself to continue pursuing her own wants and desires. Importantly, sex is also not ruined for Sybil by this experience, and she tells Erica and Katherine: “I’m getting an IUD so I won’t get pregnant again because I’ve no intention of giving up sex…but the next time I have a baby I want to make sure I can keep it” (168). Sybil acts as a powerful figure of sexual empowerment even after her pregnancy, now armed with more knowledge and tools to have a healthier sexual and reproductive experience moving forward.
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By Judy Blume
