All Fours Chapter 9: Mother, Lover, Dancing in the Dark

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The narrator arrives at Davey’s workplace and is forced to sit next to a gray-haired woman who openly admires Davey’s physique. The woman reveals herself as Irene, Davey’s mother. Irene insists they go to lunch, where she discloses that Davey has told her everything about their affair, including details about his sexual education by Irene’s friend Audra when he was a teenager. Irene discusses kundalini and suggests the narrator is having a midlife crisis. Overwhelmed, the narrator leaves and confronts Davey by phone. He explains he told his mother because she is the only person who takes his feelings seriously. They reconcile, and Davey comes to her motel room. That night they smoke marijuana and dance in complete darkness. The narrator realizes she has fallen in love with Davey despite his silly mustache and buttoned-up style. After he leaves, she calls her friend Jordi and admits her love, though she insists she does not want to leave Harris. The chapter ends with the narrator imagining a grand future with Arkanda, the musician, and a life of new experiences that would overshadow this affair.

Key Events

The narrator sits next to Irene at the Hertz franchise; Irene flirts with Davey while renting a car.
Irene reveals she is Davey’s mother and knows about their “four o’clock dates.”
Irene takes the narrator to Sesame Grill, where she describes Davey’s sexual tutelage by Audra and his practice of kundalini.
The narrator storms out of the restaurant; Irene tries to give her soup to go.
Davey calls; the narrator confronts him about telling his mother everything. Davey asks her not to make him feel like a freak.
They reconcile; Davey visits the motel, where they smoke a joint and dance in the dark.
The narrator sees Davey’s mustache and buttoned shirt and feels a surge of love for those same details she once thought would protect her from falling for him.
She calls Jordi and confesses she is “crazily in love” with Davey, but affirms she wants to stay with Harris.
The narrator imagines a future with Arkanda that would expand her life and possibly diminish her obsession with Davey.

Character Development

The Narrator: Confronts the reality of Davey’s closeness to his mother, which both disgusts and fascinates her. She grapples with the power imbalance (Irene knows everything) and ultimately accepts her own feelings of love. Her imagination runs wild with fantasies of Arkanda as a means of escape.
Davey: Reveals a vulnerability—he tells his mother intimate details because she is the only person who respects those feelings. He is working on setting boundaries but is still enmeshed. His insistence that the narrator is “roughly” his age shows his denial of the age gap.
Irene: Portrayed as intrusive, manipulative, yet oddly caring. She sees her son’s sexual energy as something to be managed and takes pride in orchestrating his education. Her revelation about Audra casts a shadow over Davey’s entire sexuality.
Jordi: A grounding presence; she listens without judgment and offers a rational perspective (“If you were a French man this would all be perfectly acceptable”). She also raises a concern about the narrator’s Benadryl use and dementia risk.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs Actually Evidenced Here

Motherhood and Boundaries: Irene’s total knowledge of her son’s sex life blurs the mother-son boundary. The narrator is horrified yet recognizes that Davey may be a victim of abuse (if gendered differently). The chapter questions where parental involvement becomes harmful.
Sexual Energy and Control: Irene discusses kundalini as a way to transform sexual energy rather than “waste” it. Davey later admits he masturbates after seeing the narrator, undercutting Irene’s claim. The tension between spiritual discipline and raw desire runs throughout.
The Dark as Liberation: Dancing in the pitch-black room allows the narrator to shed self-consciousness and perform moves she would never do in light. Darkness enables intimacy and honesty.
The Mustache and Buttoned Shirt: Initially seen as silly or off-putting, these details become the very things the narrator loves most. The reversal illustrates how attraction can reframe flaws into cherished quirks.
Imagination as Escape: The narrator’s fantasy about Arkanda (signing over royalties, professional masseuses) shows her attempt to construct a future that makes her current obsession seem small. It’s a coping mechanism.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 9 is a turning point because it externalizes the central conflict: the narrator can no longer pretend her affair exists in a vacuum. Meeting Irene forces her to see Davey as a son deeply tied to family and history. The revelation about Audra recontextualizes Davey’s sexual skill—it is not innate but taught, and the teacher was his mother’s friend. The chapter also deepens the narrator’s emotional entanglement: she moves from physical attraction to love, as confirmed in her call to Jordi. Finally, the Arkanda subplot provides a glimmer of an alternative future, suggesting the narrator may be using professional ambition to avoid confronting her feelings head-on.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does Irene’s role in Davey’s sexual education complicate the narrator’s view of their relationship?
Irene’s disclosure makes the narrator realize that Davey’s sexual confidence was systematically shaped by his mother. The narrator feels manipulated, as if she is just the latest person in a program designed to manage Davey’s “sexual energy.” This undermines the spontaneity she felt and raises questions about consent and autonomy.

2. Why does the narrator describe Davey’s mustache and buttoned shirt as both “stupid” and suddenly beloved?
The narrator initially saw these as flaws that would prevent her from falling in love with him. Their very uncoolness acted as a guard. When she falls in love regardless, those same details become the most endearing because they are uniquely his. It shows how love can rewrite the meaning of characteristics.

3. What purpose does the fantasy about Arkanda serve at the end of the chapter?
The fantasy is a psychological escape. The narrator imagines a life of travel, collaboration, and sexual adventure with Arkanda that would dwarf her current obsession. It allows her to believe she has a future beyond Davey, reducing the weight of her confession to Jordi. The fantasy reveals her fear of being consumed by love and her need for a larger narrative.