Chapter 60: The Future – 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
The chapter opens at the wedding reception for Evonne’s dad and Shirley. The room is lit by a disco ball, the band is playing, and most guests are dancing. Evonne’s dad and Shirley attempt a waltz but are clumsy; their lack of skill is outweighed by their happiness. Evonne spots Danica eating cake while talking on the phone, possibly to Martin.
Evonne leads X to the band and requests an Argentine tango, which the musicians know how to play. At first she feels self-conscious, aware of onlookers studying their movements, but soon she becomes absorbed in X. She then shares a vision of the future: eight months from now, X will be home in Lake Elizabeth playing guitar when a chest pain strikes; doctors will discover a defective heart valve he has had since birth. By that time, they will have written an entire album, danced for hours, made love, and X will have taught her guitar; he tells her he loves her every single day. Some days she will believe she will be okay, and on others she will not. Yet she knows with certainty that love can last forever.
In the present moment, X spins Evonne. Their fingertips brush and she feels as though she might slip away, but at the last second she curls her fingers and their hands catch. She does what she believes is the right thing when you find love: she holds on.
Key Events
- Evonne’s dad and Shirley dance clumsily but joyfully at their wedding reception.
- Evonne looks for Danica and finds her eating cake while on the phone (likely with Martin).
- Evonne requests an Argentine tango from the band, and they play it.
- Evonne and X dance, and she becomes lost in the moment.
- Evonne receives a vision of X’s death eight months in the future from a congenital heart defect.
- The vision also shows their shared life: writing music, dancing, making love, and daily declarations of love.
- In the present, Evonne chooses to hold onto X’s hand rather than let go.
Character Development
- Evonne demonstrates growth by choosing to embrace love even after glimpsing the pain of loss. Earlier in the book she feared love because of her parents’ divorce and the visions she saw; here she actively holds on, showing she has learned that love’s worth is not diminished by its eventual end.
- X is shown as a devoted partner who will teach Evonne guitar and express love every day. His future vulnerability humanizes him and deepens the stakes.
- Dad and Shirley are briefly seen as happy, if unskilled, dancers, reinforcing Evonne’s evolving understanding that love does not require perfection.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Love and Loss: The central tension—knowing that love will end yet choosing it anyway—is crystallized in Evonne’s vision. The chapter argues that love’s value exists independently of its duration.
- Dance as Metaphor: The Argentine tango, with its close embrace and constant turning, symbolises the risk and trust required in love. Evonne’s initial self-consciousness and subsequent immersion reflect her journey from fear to surrender.
- Certainty and Uncertainty: The vision provides certainty about X’s death but also about the richness of their time together. Evonne’s internal oscillation (“Some days I’ll know…” / “Some days I won’t”) captures the human struggle to live with both knowledge and hope.
- Holding On: The physical act of curling her fingers to catch X’s hand becomes a symbol of deliberate commitment. It echoes the “Instructions for Dancing” premise: love is an active choice, not a passive feeling.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 60 is the emotional climax of Evonne’s character arc. Throughout the novel, she has been haunted by visions of breakups and endings, leading her to believe that love is not worth the risk. Here, she sees a future that includes both profound connection and devastating loss, and she consciously decides to stay. The chapter validates the book’s central thesis: love can last forever in the sense that its impact endures, even after the relationship ends. It also provides a concrete, heartbreaking reason for the foreknowledge that has shaped Evonne’s worldview, making her final choice resonate more deeply.
Study Questions and Answers
1. What triggers Evonne’s vision of the future in this chapter?
The vision comes while she is dancing the Argentine tango with X. As she becomes completely absorbed in the dance and in him, the future unfolds in her mind: X’s death eight months later from a heart condition, along with the entire life they will share until that point.
2. How does Evonne’s description of her dad and Shirley’s dancing contrast with her own dance with X?
Evonne notes that her dad and Shirley are “terrible dancers” lacking skill but overflowing with happiness. In contrast, her dance with X is initially self-conscious but soon becomes intimate and all-consuming. The contrast highlights that love does not depend on technical perfection; both couples find joy, but Evonne’s dance carries the weight of knowing the future.
3. What does Evonne mean when she says “love can last forever” even though she has just seen X’s death?
Evonne means that the power and meaning of love are not bounded by a relationship’s temporal length. The love they share—the album they write, the dances, the daily affirmations—will continue to shape her life and remain real even after X is gone. “Forever” here refers to the love’s enduring emotional truth rather than its chronological duration.