Colored Television Chapter 4: The Novel Is Finished

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

Chapter Summary

Jane Gibson sits at Brett’s desk in March, having just written the final words of her second novel, Nusu Nusu. The novel is a sprawling historical epic that jumps between post-Reconstruction Tennessee and contemporary Malibu, following a mixed-race actress whose story ends with her drowning. Jane has been working on the book for nine and a half years. She sends the manuscript to her agent, Honor, with a brief email. Afterwards, she finds Lenny asleep on the couch, wakes him, and opens an expensive Barolo wine to celebrate. They talk about what comes next—Jane imagines Honor will be amazed, her editor Josiah will make an offer, and she’ll finally get tenure at Mischling. Jane then initiates sex with Lenny, which feels at once staged and intimate. While they make love, Jane imagines a younger version of herself—Brooklyn Jane—watching the scene from outside, wanting to give that past self a vision of future success and stability.

Key Events

Jane finishes her novel Nusu Nusu and emails it to her agent Honor.
She reflects on the novel’s ending: the actress drowns, but the final paragraphs return to a hopeful scene of free people of color in 1870s Tennessee.
She opens a vintage Barolo wine and pours two glasses.
She wakes Lenny and tells him the book is done; he reacts with slow surprise and congratulations.
Jane explains her fantasy of how the publishing process will unfold, leading to a book deal and tenure.
The couple has sex that Jane perceives as both performed and genuinely intimate.
Jane visualizes her younger self (Brooklyn Jane) watching from the garden, wanting to gift her a vision of a fulfilled life.

Character Development

Jane Gibson: Completing the novel brings a surge of relief and hope, but also self-doubt. She second-guesses the ending but forces herself to stop. The chapter shows her grappling with the gap between her public performance as a successful artist and her private anxiety. Her fantasy of Brooklyn Jane reveals a deep need to justify her past struggles.

Lenny: Initially asleep and removed, Lenny’s reaction is muted. He claims he always believed in Jane, but his hesitation and his comment about “resilience” suggest he had doubts. The sex scene feels partly obligatory, hinting at emotional distance in the marriage.

Honor (mentioned): Jane’s agent is poised to be surprised; Jane imagines Honor had given up on her ever finishing.

Brooklyn Jane: A symbolic version of Jane’s younger self, representing the optimism and hunger she once had. This figure serves as both a witness and a recipient of Jane’s hard-won success.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Artistic completion vs. perfection: Jane knows she must stop revising. The novel is done, but she fears it isn’t perfect.
The performing self: Jane feels like an actor during sex, as if choreographed. The rented house, Piper’s muumuu, and the expensive wine all underscore a life that looks successful from the outside but is borrowed.
Time and aging: The nine years are measured precisely; Jane was young when she began and now is not. The chapter emphasizes the cost of artistic labor.
Duality and “partly-partly”: The novel’s title Nusu Nusu means “partly-partly” in Swahili, a term for mixed-race people. Jane’s identity and her novel both occupy in-between spaces—historical fiction and contemporary, hope and dread.
Class and aspiration: The gleaming house, the luxury wine, and the muumuu all signal a life of borrowed comfort. Jane wants Brooklyn Jane to see this as a promise land, even though it belongs to someone else.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 4 marks the culmination of a long creative struggle. Jane has finally delivered her novel, but the chapter does not resolve her anxieties—it only shifts them. The act of finishing is overshadowed by her fantasies of validation (publishing deal, tenure) and by the fragile dynamics in her marriage. The chapter also introduces the central symbolic figure of Brooklyn Jane, who will haunt Jane’s sense of self. This is a turning point: the novel is done, but the consequences of that completion will unfold in the chapters ahead, testing Jane’s resilience and her relationship with Lenny.

Study Questions and Answers

Why does Jane imagine her younger self (Brooklyn Jane) watching her?
Jane needs to believe that the sacrifices and struggles of her past were worthwhile. By visualizing Brooklyn Jane’s awe, she validates her current life as a reward. It’s a psychological consolation for the long, uncertain years.
How does the description of the sex scene reflect Jane’s state of mind?
The sex feels both “choreographed” and intimate. Jane wants to perform success and passion for her younger self, yet the act also reconnects her with Lenny. The contrast reveals her awareness of the gap between image and reality.
What does the title Nusu Nusu mean, and why does Jane choose it for her novel?
Nusu Nusu is Swahili for “partly-partly,” a term for mixed-race people. Jane identifies with that duality. The title reflects both the novel’s theme of racial liminality and Jane’s own sense of being between categories—artist and mother, successful and struggling, Black and white.