Chapter 20 Summary: Anita – A Ghost's Wrath and a Cry for Life

⚠️ 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 chapter opens with Anita’s spirit reflecting on the phone calls Tilly is making on behalf of Jack Martin. Anita recalls how Tilly contacted curators and journalists, framing the requests as concern for the art world’s “healing” after Anita’s death. In reality, Tilly is dismantling the retrospective that would have secured Anita’s legacy. Anita’s ghost, present in the room, listens to each conversation with growing fury.

Tilly’s first call to a Chicago museum succeeds immediately; the curator agrees to postpone the show. Anita, unable to contain her rage, throws a crystal tumbler against the door. Tilly recognizes the presence and speaks Anita’s name. Anita then interferes with Tilly’s next calls, hanging up the phone each time. Frustrated, Anita retreats to her ceiba tree, hangs upside down, and then transforms into a bat. She flies back through Tilly’s window and attacks, scratching, diving, and defecating on the apartment.

During the assault, Anita realizes that her power does not come from memories or grief—it comes from her art being visible in the world. Her art is her true lifeline. Despite Tilly’s regret and apology, she insists that Jack is alive and Anita is dead. In response, Anita hovers before Tilly’s face and screams, “I want to be alive!”

Key Events

Tilly makes phone calls to museums and journalists, convincing them to postpone or cancel Anita’s retrospective.
Anita’s ghost witnesses the calls and grows increasingly enraged, especially because Tilly knows it is wrong yet complies.
Anita throws a glass against the door, revealing her presence; Tilly recognizes her.
Anita hangs up the phone repeatedly to block Tilly’s calls.
Anita retreats to her ceiba tree, transforms into a bat, and returns to attack Tilly in her apartment.
During the attack, Anita realizes that her art—not memories or tears—gives her power and presence in the world.
Tilly tells Anita that she is dead and Jack is alive, justifying her actions.
Anita screams her desperate wish to be alive, but Tilly cannot hear her.

Character Development

Anita de Monte: She moves from passive observation to violent intervention, discovering that her agency is tied to the ongoing existence of her artwork. Her fury is rooted not only in betrayal but also in the profound injustice of being erased even after death.
Tilly: She is portrayed as complicit yet self-aware. She feels “repugnance” and “self-disgrace” yet continues the work of erasing Anita. Tilly’s character highlights how institutional loyalty and fear of powerful men can override personal conscience.

Themes, Symbols, and Motifs

Art as life force: Anita explicitly realizes that her spirit is strongest when her art is in the world. Her energy and vibrancy depend on the visibility of her work.
Erasure and complicity: Tilly’s phone calls represent the active, deliberate erasure of an artist’s legacy by those who claim to support the art world. The chapter shows how complicity operates even when the actor knows it is wrong.
The bat as a motif: Anita transforms into a bat—a creature of the night, often associated with hidden truths, disruption, and the liminal space between life and death. Her bat form allows her to inflict chaos and express her rage physically.
The ceiba tree: A recurring symbol of connection to spirit and roots. Anita retreats to the tree to regain strength and find clarity before her transformation.
Power and gender: Tilly acts under Jack’s implicit authority, underscoring how institutional and patriarchal power can pressure even those who recognize injustice into perpetuating it.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is crucial because it shifts Anita’s ghost from a passive observer to an active agent. Her realization that art sustains her spirit provides the key narrative mechanism for her later influence. It also deepens the critique of the art world’s institutional complicity, showing how decisions made in private, seemingly polite conversations can destroy an artist’s legacy long after their death. Anita’s scream “I want to be alive!” is the emotional and thematic center of the novel: it expresses the fundamental desire for recognition and continuation beyond the grave.

Study Questions and Answers

Q1: Why does Tilly agree to cancel Anita’s retrospective, and what does her reaction reveal about her character?
A1: Tilly acts out of loyalty to Jack Martin, who pressures her behind the scenes. Her inner disgust and self-disgrace show that she knows her actions are unethical, but she complies anyway. This reveals her weakness in the face of authority and her prioritization of personal relationships over artistic justice.

Q2: What does Anita mean when she says “it was my art” that makes her powerful?
A2: She realizes that neither memories, nor her mother’s tears, nor photographs give her spirit strength. Only the active presence of her artwork in the world allows her to exist as a vibrant, intervening force. Her art is the bridge between her death and continued agency.

Q3: How does the chapter use the bat transformation to advance Anita’s character?
A3: The bat allows Anita to physically attack Tilly and vent her rage, but it also symbolizes her liminal state: she is neither fully alive nor fully gone. The bat’s chaotic behavior mirrors her inner turmoil and her refusal to accept erasure silently.