One Italian Summer

“The place I always felt at home. My mother, you see, is the great love of my life. She is the great love of my life, and I have lost her.”

At the beginning of the novel, Serle introduces the deep bond between Carol Silver and Katy Silver that highlights how impactful Katy’s grieving process will be as she begins to dismantle everything she knows about life. This quote also serves to illustrate just how much Katy depends on her mom, which immediately characterizes Carol and Katy’s identities as interconnected.

“‘Love is beautiful,’ my mother told him. ‘And I know how true that is. But you’re both so young. Don’t you want to live a little before you settle down? There’s so much to do and so much time to be married.’”

Serle foreshadows the eventual reveal of how Carol left Chuck and baby Katy behind because of her own fear of being married young. She does not want Katy or Eric to feel the same way, so she questions their decision to get married before truly experiencing the world. Due to this belief, Katy started to question her own decision to marry Eric in her early twenties.

“I no longer belong to my mother…I do not know how to find my center without her, because that’s what she was. I was Carol Silver’s daughter. Now I am simply a stranger.”

Katy’s character development begins with a chance at a clear state with the loss of her mother. Due to their close relationship, Katy does not have her own identity, so the novel will uncover her journey toward the discovery of her identity. This quote also serves to establish the importance that Katy places on what it means to “belong” to another person—even to oneself.