The Great Believers

In The Great Believers, the emotions of shame and survivor’s guilt are closely entwined, and characters process these emotions simultaneously. When Yale learns that Charlie has been infected with AIDS (and possibly infected him) as a result of his secretive sexual encounters with anonymous men, he is not only tasked with forgiving Charlie’s indiscretion, but forgiving Charlie’s shame. Eventually, Yale realizes that Charlie’s righteous political image—ranting about “commuter gays” and safe sex—was a mask for his deep, private shame about being gay himself. When Yale initially tests negative for HIV—and feels he has escaped death—he contends with his own complicated feelings of shame and survivor’s guilt, wondering, “why me?”.

After Yale becomes infected with AIDS (from having sex with Roman), he better understands the societal pressures that intensified Charlie’s shame. During a gay rights protest Yale participates in with Fiona, he tells her that monogamy—and the shame attached to anonymous sex—is the whole reason he is sick. On one level, Yale sees that Charlie’s inability to preserve their monogamy—and the shame Charlie felt about this inability—led him to irresponsible, secretive sex with strangers (whereas if they’d been in an open relationship, they could’ve made honest compromises about seeing other partners). On another level, Yale recognizes that his assumptions about Roman’s sexual behavior and presumed monogamy (based on his superficial appearance and self-presentation) led him to unwittingly engage in unsafe sex (which ultimately led to AIDS). These realizations significantly challenge conservative narratives about the “reasons” AIDS was spread among gay men: The belief that the virus was spread by sex with multiple partners, and that sexual abstinence was the only way to preserve safety. Yale recognizes that contrary to these narratives, the elevation of abstinence and monogamy only leads to shame, secrecy, and irresponsible behavior.

When Yale finally goes to see Charlie on his death bed—in the same hospital where he himself will die—he is able to let go of his own guilt and shame. Facing his mortality allows him to appreciate the life he has left (while he still has it) and the connections he has within his life.

Likewise, Fiona comes to terms with her own shame (over being a less-than-adequate mother to Claire) and survivor’s guilt (about out-living all of her gay friends) simultaneously. The novel reveals that Fiona’s shame is deeply connected to survivor’s guilt by the events surrounding Claire’s birth. Claire was born on the day Yale died; thus, Claire’s birth has always been surrounded by feelings of guilt (that Fiona lived, that she couldn’t be there for Yale, and that Yale died “alone”). Fiona processes her guilt and shame by tracking down Claire in Paris, by learning to communicate with her daughter as an autonomous adult with her own life (rather than a symbol of someone else’s death). Fiona also processes her guilt and shame with the help of Julian, who similarly survived past all of his friends (despite his questions of “why me?”). 

Though The Great Believers’ thematic deconstructions of guilt and shame can be read several different ways, the prevailing message is perhaps best summarized by Julian’s advice for Fiona and Claire near the book’s end:

If we could just be on earth at the same place and same time as everyone we loved, if we could be born together and die together, it would be so simple. And it’s not. But listen: You two are on the planet at the same time. You’re in the same place now. That’s a miracle (401).

With these words, Fiona feels a sense of purpose in Julian’s survival—in the reality that they are all “in the same place now.” Just as Yale learned to appreciate life at Charlie’s deathbed, Fiona learns to let go of Yale’s death (and appreciate the present moment she and her daughter are living in).