Chapter 32 Summary: Christmas Eve at the Alyeska Resort
⚠️ 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
Mr. Korgy drives the narrator to the Alyeska Resort for Christmas Eve. During the drive, he asks her to duck at stoplights to avoid being seen. He apologizes but she reassures him. They check into a chateau-style hotel. After dumping their bags, Gwen calls, but he silences the call. They have sex on the bed and in the shower, then order room service. They watch skiers from the window and invent life stories for them. Mr. Korgy shares personal details: his mother knits compulsively after his father’s death; he never felt close to his father; his sister died, leading to a World of Warcraft addiction. The narrator tells him about her trailer-park Christmases and her absent father. On the return drive, he plays stand-up comedy clips and music from his youth. He calls her “Waldo” and says she makes him feel young; she says the same to him.
Key Events
- Mr. Korgy makes the narrator duck at stoplights to avoid visibility.
- He takes her to the Alyeska Resort, an expensive hotel in the mountains.
- Gwen calls; he ignores the call to stay with the narrator.
- They have sex twice (in bed and in the shower).
- He shares that his mother knits scarves to cope with his father’s death.
- He admits he never felt close to his father.
- He reveals his sister’s death led to a World of Warcraft addiction.
- The narrator describes her childhood Christmases in a trailer park.
- On the return drive, he plays comedians and 90s/2000s music.
- He calls her “Waldo” and they exchange lines about making each other feel young.
Character Development
- The narrator: Shows her eagerness to please Mr. Korgy (switching shifts, memorizing songs). She feels pride when he shares something embarrassing, indicating her investment in his trust. She also reveals vulnerability about her absent father.
- Mr. Korgy: Opens up about deep grief—his father’s emotional distance, his sister’s death, and his subsequent escape into gaming. This vulnerability contrasts with his usual control and suggests he uses the relationship to recapture youth and connection.
- Gwen (offstage): Her call interrupts an intimate moment, reminding readers of the hidden nature of the relationship.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Performance and hiding: The narrator must physically hide in the car. Mr. Korgy silences Gwen. The invented skier life story reflects a woman unable to leave a repulsive marriage—parallels the narrator’s own situation.
- Escapism and coping: Mr. Korgy’s World of Warcraft addiction echoes his current pattern of using the relationship to escape grief. The narrator uses the relationship to escape her mundane life.
- Age and youth: He says she makes him feel young; she says he makes her feel young—but the chapter also shows the power imbalance (he drives, pays, sets rules).
- Family and loss: Both characters share stories of broken or lost families (his sister, her father, his mother’s knitting, her trailer-park community).
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter advances the central relationship by moving it out of town and into a shared holiday. The intimate setting allows for deeper personal disclosures, revealing the emotional damage each character carries. The childhood memories—his Orlando Christmases and her trailer-park Christmases—humanize them both. The chapter also plants seeds of future conflict: the need to hide, the intrusion of Gwen, and the narrator’s active effort to please him by memorizing references.
Study Questions and Answers
1. What does Mr. Korgy’s story about his mother’s knitting reveal about his family’s way of handling grief? His mother knits scarves nonstop after his father’s death. Mr. Korgy interprets this as a way to avoid feeling the sadness—going numb and focusing on a repetitive task. This indicates that the family, including himself, has a pattern of not directly facing emotional pain. His own World of Warcraft addiction after his sister’s death is another form of avoidance.
2. How does the invented skier story the narrator tells serve as a commentary on her own relationship with Mr. Korgy? She imagines a housewife who stays in a repulsive marriage for the sake of kids but actually stays because she values consistency and routine, unable to face her own dissatisfaction. This parallels the narrator’s situation: she is in a relationship that requires hiding, and she may be staying out of her own need for stability, intimacy, or escape, even if the conditions are degrading.
3. Why does the narrator try to memorize the songs Mr. Korgy plays from his teenage years? She wants to reference them later to impress him. Her mother’s advice that “men get so impressed by references” shows that the narrator has been trained to perform and manipulate to maintain a partner’s interest. Her effort is a calculated move to deepen his attachment to her.