Chapter 17 Summary – Opera Class, Bethesda Fountain, and a Cruel Remark
⚠️ 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
As Bodie walks uphill through the wind to her guesthouse, skipping lunch, she recalls the opera seminar of fall senior year at Granby. The class had only six students: Bodie, Thalia, Thalia's boyfriend Robbie, Beth Docherty, Kwan Li, and Robbie's friend Kellan TenEyck. Bodie reflects on how time stamps people—future labels like "Murdered Girl" and "Opera Star!" would follow some of them.
The group traveled to New York City in October to see three operas at the Met. Bodie, from rural Indiana, had only thirty dollars for the three days. She woke early each morning, bought cheap food, and walked the city alone. On the second day, Kwan told her about the "pay what you wish" admission at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
On the third morning, Bodie walked through Central Park toward the museum. She passed a fountain her map labeled "Beth. Fountain," not yet knowing it was Bethesda Fountain. There she saw Thalia and the teacher (the "you" of the novel) sitting close, legs touching. When they noticed Bodie, they quickly moved apart. The teacher smoothly shifted the moment into an offer to be Bodie's convocation advisor—a relief for Bodie, who had been anxious about approaching a faculty member.
That night at Tosca, Kellan turned to Bodie during intermission and asked, "So you and Fran Hoffnung are dykes together, right?" Bodie went to bed angry about that remark, not about what she had witnessed in the park.
Key Events
- Bodie flashes back to the six‑student opera seminar, identifying each person and their future trajectories.
- The group travels to New York City for three operas in three days.
- Bodie navigates the city on a tight budget of thirty dollars, skipping meals and walking miles.
- She sends a postcard to her mother in Arizona, revealing her absence without prior notice.
- On the third day, Bodie discovers Kwan's tip about the Met's donation‑based admission.
- She walks to Bethesda Fountain and finds Thalia and the teacher sitting intimately; the teacher quickly offers to be Bodie's convocation advisor.
- At Tosca, Kellan asks Bodie if she and Fran are lesbians, a comment she stews over instead of the fountain encounter.
Character Development
- Bodie reveals her deep economic anxiety and small‑town insecurity, especially next to wealthy classmates. She desperately seeks validation from the teacher and suppresses her own observations of impropriety.
- Thalia appears willing to cross boundaries with the teacher, using her charm to secure a special role (convocation advisor).
- The teacher ("you") presents himself as a mentor but engages in physically intimate poses with a student, then uses Bodie to deflect suspicion.
- Kellan TenEyck displays casual homophobia, foreshadowing the cruelty that defines his character later.
- Kwan Li serves as a minor contrast: he is resourceful (learning about the museum) and unselfconscious.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Class and privilege: Bodie's thirty‑dollar budget vs. Robbie's ease; the postcard to her mother dramatizes the gulf between her home life and Granby.
- Memory and labeling: Bodie imagines future labels floating over each person ("Murdered Girl," "Opera Star!"), a motif that underscores how hindsight colors recollection.
- Power imbalance: The teacher's inappropriate closeness with Thalia is quickly covered by an offer of academic guidance, blurring ethical lines.
- Homophobia: Kellan's question targets Bodie and Fran, revealing the hostile climate of the school and Bodie's internalized shame.
- Bethesda Fountain: A landmark that becomes a site of hidden knowledge and denial—Bodie later knows it by its true name.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter establishes the mentorship relationship between Bodie and the teacher, a central tie in the novel's present‑day investigation. It also provides the first clear evidence of Thalia's closeness to the teacher, raising questions about their relationship before her death. Additionally, Kellan's homophobic remark introduces a thread of cruelty that will echo through later chapters, and Bodie's economic background adds depth to her motives and vulnerabilities.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Bodie send a postcard to her mother, and what does it reveal about her state of mind?
Bodie sends a postcard featuring letters filled with New York photos. She wants to surprise her mother, but she later realizes it was unkind—implying "Look how little you know about me." The act shows Bodie's hunger to distance herself from her rural origins and her desire to be seen as independent, even at the cost of her mother's feelings.
2. What is the significance of Bodie focusing her anger on Kellan's question rather than on what she saw at Bethesda Fountain?
Bodie's reaction reveals her internalized homophobia and her need to avoid confronting the teacher's misconduct. The fountain encounter threatens her fragile sense of belonging at Granby; by deflecting onto Kellan's remark, she preserves the teacher as a safe authority figure. The choice also foreshadows how later events will be similarly compartmentalized.
3. How does the narrative use the device of "text bubbles" (future labels) in this chapter?
Bodie imagines floating labels like "Murdered Girl" and "Sad Drunk" over her classmates, acknowledging that hindsight reshapes memory. This technique emphasizes the deterministic weight of the future on the past and reminds the reader that every character in the flashback is already known by their ultimate fate, coloring every interaction.