Summer of '69

These chapters reveal the growing isolation of the Foley-Levin sisters as they lack support. Social constructions and secrecy regarding personal difficulties curtail the sense of empowerment necessary for self-assertion. Maturity and Responsibility continues to be a central theme because of the barriers to characters achieving either. Kate’s fixation on Tiger’s fate leads her to a sadness that prevents her from fulfilling her role as a supportive mother to her other children, particularly Jessie and Blair. When Blair tells Kate about her husband’s infidelity, Kate smooths it over by encouraging Blair to drink alcohol. Her advice is contradictory: She tells Blair to “act like an adult and not a child who runs away from her problems” while stating that she should ignore the affair (102). Later, the narrative reveals that this was Kate’s advice to herself when learning of Wilder’s infidelities. Kate has yet to realize that her earlier decision was the wrong one.

Choosing What Male Behavior to Accept begins to become a primary theme too in this section. Jessie knows that Garrison’s behavior is wrong and is appalled by it—and surprised by her grandmother’s advice to dismiss it. Jessie can’t turn to Kate about it because, as Kirby observes, Kate has almost forgotten that Jessie exists. Kate’s selfishness is a learned behavior: Exalta also escaped through drinking and upholding the status quo for propriety’s sake even when it hurt others. This concern with appearances is evident in her insistence on Jessie’s using the last name Nichols at the Club and her continued preference for Wilder over David. Being unable to honestly express concerns and fears forces both Blair and Jessie into secrecy and into releasing stress in unhealthy ways.

Because Blair can’t fully confront Angus through conversation, she seeks escape routes. However, unlike Kate and Exalta, alcohol isn’t her drug of choice. Instead, Blair becomes heavily reliant on fantasizing romantic scenarios, convincing herself that they’re viable options. This might not be dangerous if her fantasies remained daydreams. However, because of the message on Joey’s lighter, she focuses particularly on her old flame. Blair feels that Joey, who claimed to be “eternally [hers],” can rescue her from her current unpleasant situation. Her physical attraction to his embrace isn’t just pleasure but also a way to deny the restrictions that her marriage and pregnancy engender. Joey, as her past boyfriend, is linked to her as Blair Foley, not Blair Whalen. While she focuses on his adoration of her, what she really longs for is the time when she felt that she liked herself.

Jessie understandably feels powerless after Garrison’s frotteurism. Because she isn’t an adult like Blair or Kate, her avoidance behavior is more poignant. The adults in her life are preoccupied by alcohol (Kate, Exalta) or are absent (David, Tiger, Kirby, Blair). Consequently, Jessie feels doubly isolated in her lack of guidance to navigate a disturbing situation. Faced with Exalta’s immediate diminishment of the incident, she grasps at any form of control, which takes the form of the activity that soothed her before. Jessie uses stealing to redirect her hurt, anger, and helplessness just as Kate and Blair divert these emotions into alcohol and fantasy, respectively.

Although it might not be true, Pick notes that he thinks Lorraine had to leave the commune because of a bad relationship. Her behavior is extreme in that she’s willing to sacrifice her son’s solidity to avoid another relationship. However, Lorraine viewing escape as the only option exemplifies how not standing up for oneself can lead to destructive consequences. The danger of secrecy affects Kirby in this way too. Her previous experience of visiting Dr. Frazier when she was pregnant with Scottie’s child is a threat if relayed to Darren. She desperately wants reinvention, but by ignoring what happened to her and her grief about it, she remains tied to her past and its complications.

Past hurts from dominant social groups create harm too, as evident in both the membership at the Field and Oar Club and the segregated beaches on Martha’s Vineyard. Patty’s reaction to Kirby’s invite and the latter’s experience on Inkwell Beach—whose occupants eye her as an intruder—show that integration after racial injustice is a difficult task. Were violence not part of the past, an interracial couple might be more easily accepted. In addition, the prejudiced views of the elite disempower Jessie and David because they’re. Jessie’s concerns about fighting ostracization likewise touch on the need to change the status quo. The times may be changing, but Hilderbrand suggests that the process requires human intervention and encouragement.