Chapter summaries Constance Matthew FitzSimmons

Constance Chapter 23 Summary and Analysis

⚠️ 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

Con joins Stephie, her partner Elena, and Elena’s daughter Dahlia for dinner in their apartment above the Charlottesville music shop. Con feels welcomed by the family warmth but is surprised to find that Stephie has rekindled her faith. During the meal, Dahlia asks blunt questions about Con being a clone and the original Con’s disappearance. Stephie explains she reconnected with the original Con about a year ago when Con walked into her store. The original left her guitar and notebooks with Stephie for safekeeping, claiming she was involved in something dangerous. Later, Dahlia reveals she saw the original Con two weeks ago on Water Street and followed her to an unknown location, offering to show Con the spot the next day.

Key Events

  • Con meets Elena and Dahlia for the first time and learns they already knew the original Con well.
  • Stephie shares the story of how she met Elena and built a new life after the crash.
  • Con apologizes for shutting Stephie out after the accident; Stephie absolves her of guilt over the crash.
  • Stephie plays recordings the original Con made while visiting—songs Con herself wrote but does not remember recording.
  • Con finds her guitar and notebooks stored in the studio, confirming her original was not having an affair but came to record music.
  • Stephie reveals that the original Con stopped visiting six months ago, acting frightened and asking not to be contacted.
  • Dahlia enters and says she saw the original Con two weeks ago, ignoring her; she offers to show Con the location.

Character Development

  • Con D’Arcy: This chapter deepens Con’s emotional journey as she confronts her guilt over the crash and her original’s death. She experiences jealousy toward her original’s relationships and struggles with her fragmented identity, but Dahlia’s simple acceptance of her dual nature offers comfort.
  • Stephie: Stephie shows growth since the accident: she has found love and purpose, reconciled with the original Con, and now extends the same forgiveness to the clone. Her ability to separate the crash from blame signals her own healing.
  • Dahlia: The twelve-year-old demonstrates surprising emotional intelligence, accepting Con as “both” rather than forcing her into a single identity. Her independent observation provides a critical plot clue.
  • Elena: Though a minor presence, Elena’s warmth and her proud glances at Stephie and Dahlia reinforce the theme of found family.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Identity and Duality: Dahlia’s question—“Why can’t you be both?”—captures the chapter’s central theme. Con’s struggle to see herself as separate yet the same as her original is challenged by a child’s intuitive acceptance.
  • Music as Memory and Connection: The shared Radiohead joke, the unreleased songs, and the impromptu duet on “North Dakota” show how music bridges the gap between past and present, original and clone.
  • Guilt and Forgiveness: Con’s apology and Stephie’s response highlight the burden of survivor’s guilt and the possibility of absolution. Stephie insists the crash was a collective failure, not Con’s alone.
  • Secrecy and Danger: The original Con’s fear and her request to not be contacted, plus the unexplained gap between her last visit to Stephie and Dahlia’s sighting, escalate the mystery surrounding her death.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter provides a turning point in the investigation: Con learns her original was not having an affair but was secretly recording music, undermining the police’s motive for Levi’s guilt. More importantly, Dahlia’s sighting of the original two weeks ago—when her car was supposedly already found—suggests the original was alive much longer than previously thought. The clue about the location on Water Street points toward the next phase of Con’s search. Emotionally, the chapter solidifies Con’s connection to Stephie’s family, giving her a sense of belonging that contrasts with her isolation.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. Why does Con feel jealous of the original Con’s relationship with Stephie and her family?

    • Con is jealous because her original got to know Elena and Dahlia and build a warm, established connection with them. As a clone, Con missed those shared experiences and feels that any new bond will always be a “second time,” never as deep as the original.

  2. What does the decision of the original Con to leave her guitar and notebooks with Stephie reveal about her state of mind before her death?

    • The original Con left her most prized possession for safekeeping because she was afraid for her life. She asked Stephie not to contact her, indicating she believed the danger was serious enough to cut ties. This changes the timeline of her fear from the final weeks to at least six months before her death.

  3. How does Dahlia’s perspective on Con’s identity challenge or comfort Con?

    • Dahlia’s simple idea that Con can be “both her but not her, her but also you” comforts Con because it avoids the rigid either/or thinking that Con has been trapped in. It suggests that identity can be fluid and that relationships don’t have to be invalidated by her unique origin.

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