Chapter 34: Desperation and a Stolen Locket

⚠️ 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

After returning from her haircut with Regina, Joan finds Deck home early. He is startled by her new pixie cut but says he loves it. Joan lies about her day, claiming she went shopping in St. Cloud. Deck reassures her of his love for her and the baby, and proposes buying a crib the next day. He then informs Joan that he has planned a dinner party for the next evening, inviting all the important Mothers and Fathers along with Kris from the Lilydale Ledger. Joan asks to invite Regina, but Deck dismisses her as someone who “won’t fit in.” Feeling trapped and monitored, Joan later cannot sleep. She retrieves hidden cigarettes from under the kitchen sink and steps into the backyard. The smell of smoke brings Ursula’s voice to mind, reminding her of a painful memory from college: on Halloween night, her friend Libby had confided in Joan about wanting an abortion, and Joan told her it would look better in the morning. Libby killed herself that night. Overwhelmed by guilt, Joan decides to steal Dorothy Lily’s white enamel locket. She slips into Stan and Dorothy’s house through an unlocked door, finds the locket in the bedroom jewelry box, and takes it. The act gives Joan a fleeting sense of power. On her way home, she notices a man watching her from the alley.

Key Events

• Joan gets a short pixie haircut from Regina, feeling both changed and self-conscious.
• Deck returns home early, expresses shock then approval of the haircut, but reveals he planned a large dinner party without consulting Joan.
• Joan lies about her day to cover her visit to the retired sheriff, Grover.
• Deck dismisses Joan’s request to invite Regina to the party, claiming she “won’t fit in.”
• Unable to sleep, Joan retrieves hidden cigarettes and smokes in the backyard.
• The cigarette smoke triggers a memory of her college friend Ursula and the night Libby died.
• Joan recalls that Libby came to her for help after a Halloween party, terrified about an abortion; Joan told her it would “look better in the morning.”
• Libby committed suicide that night, and Joan blames herself for not saying the right thing.
• Joan sneaks into Stan and Dorothy’s house and steals Dorothy’s white enamel lily locket.
• She feels a rush of power from the theft, believing it gives her an advantage over the Mothers and Fathers.
• On her way back, Joan spots a man watching her from the alley, suggesting she is being surveilled.

Character Development

Joan (Joanie) Nash – This chapter marks a turning point in Joan’s psychological state. Her guilt over Libby’s suicide surfaces violently, revealing a deep, unprocessed wound from her college years. Her decision to steal the locket shows her growing willingness to cross moral boundaries in search of control. The confrontation with Deck about the dinner party underscores her isolation and powerlessness in Lilydale; his dismissive attitude pushes her further toward secrecy and rebellion.

Deck – Deck appears outwardly supportive (praising the haircut, planning a crib), but his unilateral decision to host a party and his refusal to let Joan invite Regina expose a controlling, even manipulative side. His pattern of ignoring Joan’s emotional needs while claiming to help aligns with his earlier behavior.

Dorothy Lily – Though she does not appear directly in this chapter, Dorothy’s locket becomes a symbol of the power Joan craves. The fact that the locket resembles the Fathers and Mothers pin suggests Dorothy is deeply embedded in the town’s secret hierarchy.

Ursula & Libby – Both are introduced through flashback. Ursula’s imagined voice serves as Joan’s guilty conscience. Libby’s tragic fate—suicide after a botched attempt to seek support—mirrors the themes of silenced women and lost agency that run through the novel.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Guilt and Self‑Blame – Joan’s entire emotional spiral in this chapter is driven by survivor’s guilt. She believes her casual “it’ll look better in the morning” led to Libby’s death. The memory is the emotional anchor that makes her feel she deserves no happiness or trust.

Control and Powerlessness – Joan has no say in her own life: Deck plans parties, the town watches her, and she cannot drink or smoke openly. Stealing the locket is her attempt to reclaim agency, even through a morally questionable act. The theft itself becomes a symbol of secret knowledge, a way to “know something none of them do.”

Surveillance and Exposure – The chapter opens with Joan feeling exposed by her new haircut and ends with a man watching her from the alley. This bookends her loss of privacy. The unlocked doors of the Lily homes suggest that in this town, no boundary is truly safe.

Maternal Memory – Libby reminded Joan of her own mother, linking the trauma of losing her mother to the trauma of losing Libby. The cigarette smoke, which smells like Ursula, further binds the past to the present, showing how unaddressed grief poisons current relationships.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 34 is a critical pivot point in the novel. It finally gives readers the backstory Joan has been hiding: the suicide of her college friend Libby and Joan’s role (as she sees it) in that death. This revelation explains Joan’s deep anxiety, her jumpiness, and her feeling of being unworthy of love. It also explains why she is so desperate for control—she failed to help her friend once and refuses to be powerless again.

The theft of Dorothy’s locket is the first tangible act of rebellion against the Lilydale establishment. It raises the stakes for the upcoming dinner party and foreshadows further confrontation. The unnamed man watching from the alley adds a new layer of threat, suggesting that Joan’s every move is being tracked.

Study Questions & Answers

1. What is the significance of Joan’s haircut in this chapter?
The haircut represents Joan’s attempt to change her identity and regain some control. It is a spontaneous act that makes her feel “so different, so young,” but it also unsettles Deck and marks her as an outsider among the Mothers and Fathers. The haircut physically mirrors her emotional stripping away of layers, leading to the raw memory of Libby.

2. How does the dinner party conflict reveal the power dynamics in Joan and Deck’s relationship?
Deck announces the party to Joan as a fait accompli. When she objects, he frames it as something that will help her article and her integration into the town. He dismisses her request to invite Regina, saying she “won’t fit in.” This shows that Deck prioritizes the Mothers and Fathers’ approval over Joan’s autonomy. His claim that the party is “really for you” is a classic control tactic disguised as care.

3. Why does Joan steal Dorothy’s locket, and what does the locket symbolize?
Joan steals the locket because she feels utterly powerless in Lilydale—she cannot decide who visits her home, cannot drink in public, and cannot even sleep without being monitored. The locket, which resembles the Fathers and Mothers pin, represents a hidden secret of the town’s founding family. By possessing it, Joan believes she holds a piece of knowledge that gives her leverage. The theft is an act of desperation and defiance, but it also signals her descent into morally ambiguous behavior.