30 pages • 1 hour read
Anne TylerA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Much of the narrative focuses on Bet’s quest to be seen, both by the world and herself. Tyler exaggerates her domestic situation with the inclusion of a developmentally disabled child and the exclusion of a husband/father, but Bet’s story still reflects the plight of a middle-class American housewife in the 1970s. Bet’s isolation and dearth of connection are literal, but she stands in for the thousands of women who experienced that vacuum, even with a partner and a child who could interact and communicate. Through Bet’s eyes, Tyler explores not only the unrealistic expectations of a woman/mother/wife but also the daunting proposition of letting go of those presumptions.
The first time readers learn Arnold’s name is in the third paragraph when Bet tells him they are “going out”; up until that point, she refers to him with pronouns only. This has an alienating effect, paralleling the distance Bet tries to create between herself and the situation as she steels herself to abandon her child. This also emphasizes that while Bet pursues The Search for Identity for herself, she erases her son’s, foreshadowing how Bet’s new life will come at a cost.
By Anne Tyler
A Patchwork Planet
A Patchwork Planet
Anne Tyler
A Spool of Blue Thread
A Spool of Blue Thread
Anne Tyler
Breathing Lessons
Breathing Lessons
Anne Tyler
Clock Dance
Clock Dance
Anne Tyler
Digging to America
Digging to America
Anne Tyler
Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant
Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant
Anne Tyler
French Braid
French Braid
Anne Tyler
Redhead by the Side of the Road
Redhead by the Side of the Road
Anne Tyler
Saint Maybe
Saint Maybe
Anne Tyler
Teenage Wasteland
Teenage Wasteland
Anne Tyler
The Accidental Tourist
The Accidental Tourist
Anne Tyler
Vinegar Girl
Vinegar Girl
Anne Tyler