Go Gentle Chapter 2: The Coven and the Central Park Walk

Spoiler Notice: This summary contains spoilers for Chapter 2 of Go Gentle.

Summary

The narrator walks through Central Park on her way to work, marveling at the city’s beauty despite the smell of urine. She passes the Dakota and the Imagine mosaic, hearing a busker play “Savoy Truffle.” Her mind is on a recent “bomb-drop”: an apartment on the seventh floor of her building, unit 716, has become available. She explains the backstory of her living arrangement. After her divorce, she moved to the Upper West Side. One night, while shopping with her friend Emily Ann (a widowed lawyer), they realized they each only wanted half of a packaged item—celery and bread. They spontaneously decided to share: the narrator bought celery, Emily Ann bought bread, and they swapped halves. The moment felt vividly happy and lawless. Their friend Minna (a divorced theater director) wanted in, and soon they started a weekly meetup at Fairway where single women divide bulk groceries. When an apartment opened on the narrator’s floor, Minna moved in, followed by Emily Ann, with the idea of pooling resources to care for one another as they age. The narrator calls their trio a “coven.” Now, she texts Minna and Emily Ann about unit 716. In response, she sees “an outbreak of shriveled witches” on her screen. She greets a security guard named Tony and heads toward a Beaux-Arts mansion.

Key Events

The narrator walks through Central Park, noting iconic landmarks and the season’s first blooms.
She recalls the exciting news that apartment 716 is available on her floor.
Through a flashback, she recounts the origin of her friendship with Emily Ann: a grocery-sharing moment at a market.
Minna joins them, and the grocery meetup grows.
The friends move into the same building to create a support network for old age.
The narrator texts about the available apartment and receives a reply that reinforces their “coven” identity.
She greets security guard Tony and continues to work.

Character Development

The Narrator (divorced philosopher): She reveals her reflective, observant nature. Her delight in small moments (sharing celery) and her practical plan for aging show a blend of idealism and pragmatism. She defines happiness as spontaneity, creative problem-solving, and kinship.
Emily Ann (widowed lawyer): Introduced as someone who appreciates efficiency and waste reduction. She quickly bonds with the narrator over a common problem and shares her enthusiasm.
Minna (divorced theater director): Eager to join the arrangement, she represents a third perspective—someone who values community enough to move neighborhoods.
The trio collectively models a self-made support system for older single women, contrasting with typical societal expectations.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Community and Mutual Care: The central theme is women creating an intentional, feminist alternative to traditional family structures. The grocery-sharing meetup and the apartment arrangement symbolize a practical, joyful form of solidarity.
Aging with Independence: The characters plan to “age in place” and care for each other, rejecting isolation or dependence on family.
Spontaneity and Happiness: The narrator identifies her happiest moment as the unplanned grocery trade—spontaneity, lawlessness, and laughter define true happiness.
The Coven Motif: The word “coven” embraces the idea of a powerful, witchy collective of women, reclaiming a term often used pejoratively.
Central Park: The park serves as a threshold between her private thoughts and the public world, filled with sensory details that ground her reflections.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 2 establishes the novel’s central social structure—the narrator’s coven of single women. It explains how the trio formed, why they live together, and what values guide them. It also deepens the narrator’s voice: playful, philosophical, and wry. The chapter sets up a key plot point (the available apartment) and offers a foundation for exploring themes of aging, friendship, and self-determination.

Study Questions

What specific event does the narrator describe as the happiest moment of her life, and why does it stand out to her?
She describes the spontaneous grocery trade with Emily Ann at a market. She values it for its creativity, lawlessness, and shared laughter—it made her feel “wide and well” and fully present in a harmonious universe.
How does the narrator characterize the responses of married couples when she explains her living arrangement?
She notes a gender divide: husbands often say “Keep away from my wife,” while wives ask “Wait, you can do that?” with visible interest. This highlights societal assumptions about women’s independence and the threat it poses to traditional marriage.
What does the narrator mean when she uses the word “coven” to describe her group?
She uses “coven” playfully, embracing its connotations of a secret, powerful collective of women. It reinforces the group’s feminist, intentional nature and hints at their solidarity against societal expectations.