Chapter 62 'Scissors' 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

Chapter 62, titled Scissors, is presented as a letter from Robin to Adam dated 16 September 2020 — six months after she returned from Scotland. The chapter opens with the word of the year: schadenfreude, defined as pleasure derived from another person's misfortune, a fitting frame for the revelations that follow.

Robin writes that she and Adam are a family again, together with Bob and Oscar the house rabbit. She reflects that sometimes what you set free comes back, and notes that nobody knows what happened in Scotland and nobody ever needs to. Returning to London was difficult because the home still carried traces of Amelia, but bin bags, trips to the rubbish tip, and a fresh coat of paint removed those reminders. Robin describes their life as restored to its original state.

Robin has left her job at Battersea Dogs Home — too many reminders of the past — and now works as a full-time writer. Her novel, also titled Rock Paper Scissors, is scheduled for publication the following year. Although her name will not appear on the cover, she considers it her book and feels anxious about readers encountering so much of their real lives in its pages. The screen rights have been sold to a company Adam has long dreamed of working with, and the contract includes a clause naming Adam as the sole screenwriter. Robin notes that Henry signed the deal — or at least she did, a line that hints at the extent of her deception.

The advance author copies arrived that day, and Robin cried tears of joy. She opened the box with the vintage stork scissors she brought home from Scotland — scissors her mother had bought in pairs, one for Robin and one for herself. Robin kept one pair and deliberately left the other at Blackwater Chapel, symbolically leaving the past behind. The scissors marked the end of an unpleasant chapter and helped reveal a new future by opening the box of books. The novel has already been sold in twenty translations.

Robin then reveals the novel's deepest secrets: Henry Winter was her father, and he is dead. She also references what happened to Adam's second wife, Amelia, and admits it still upsets her that Amelia was ever Adam's wife at all. She recalls how happy she was when Adam removed his wedding ring in Scotland and threw it into the loch. She also tried to remove Adam's mother's sapphire engagement ring from Amelia's hand before they left — not because she wanted it back, but because Amelia never deserved to wear it. The ring would not come off, and Robin admits this bothered her more than it should have.

Robin acknowledges that their marriage is not perfect — marriage is hard work, sometimes heartbreaking and sad — but any relationship worth having is worth fighting for. She speaks of the beauty in imperfection and cherishes what they have now, even though it is bloodied and a little torn around the edges. They still keep secrets, but not from each other anymore.

The letter closes with a forward-looking note: if they had not divorced, next year would have been their thirteenth anniversary. The traditional gift for thirteen years is lace, and Robin already knows what she will give Adam — though she will be the one wearing a new wedding dress, it will be for him. She signs off as Your Robin.

Key Events

• Robin writes to Adam six months after returning from Scotland, on 16 September 2020

• The family is reunited: Robin, Adam, Bob, and Oscar the house rabbit

• Robin and Adam remove all traces of Amelia from their London home

• Robin leaves Battersea Dogs Home and becomes a full-time writer

• Her novel Rock Paper Scissors is set for publication the following year

• Screen rights sell to a company Adam dreamed of working with; Adam is named sole screenwriter

• Advance copies arrive; Robin opens the box with her vintage stork scissors

• The novel sells in twenty translations

• Robin reveals Henry Winter was her father and is dead

• Adam threw his wedding ring into the loch in Scotland

• Robin tried and failed to remove the sapphire ring from Amelia's hand

• Robin plans a new wedding dress for their would-be thirteenth anniversary

Character Development

Robin — This chapter completes Robin's transformation from the anxious, uncertain figure of earlier chapters into a woman who has taken control of her own story. She has left her job, become a writer, and turned their real-life experiences into fiction. Her decision to keep one pair of scissors and leave the other at Blackwater Chapel shows a deliberate commitment to moving forward. Her confession that Henry Winter was her father and is dead reveals the depth of the secrets she carried, while her admission that she tried to remove the sapphire ring from Amelia's hand shows she is still capable of petty resentments — a humanizing imperfection she openly acknowledges.

Adam — Though we only hear about him through Robin's letter, Adam's actions speak clearly. Throwing his wedding ring into the loch signals his commitment to Robin and his willingness to leave the past behind. The contract clause naming him sole screenwriter suggests Robin's desire to give him something he has always wanted, a gesture of love and reparation.

Henry Winter — The revelation that Henry Winter was Robin's father reframes his role in the novel. His death, confirmed here, closes that thread of the story.

Amelia — Though dead, Amelia's presence lingers. The ring that would not come off her finger becomes a final act of stubbornness, and Robin's lingering upset about Amelia's marriage to Adam shows that some wounds take longer to heal.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Scissors — The chapter's title and central symbol. The vintage stork scissors represent both endings and new beginnings: they mark the end of an unpleasant chapter and open the box of books that reveals their future. The deliberate leaving of one pair at Blackwater Chapel reinforces the theme of letting go.

Schadenfreude — The word of the year frames the chapter. Robin's pleasure in certain outcomes — the ring that would not come off Amelia's hand, the secrets kept from the world — carries a note of satisfaction at another's misfortune, even as she claims to have moved on.

Secrets and hidden truths — The chapter is built on the idea that some truths are kept from the world but shared between the two of them. The line about still having secrets, but not from each other, is the chapter's central statement about intimacy and trust.

Leaving the past behind — From the bin bags and paint that erase Amelia's traces to the ring thrown in the loch and the scissors left at Blackwater Chapel, the chapter is saturated with images of deliberate forgetting and moving forward.

Writing and authorship — Robin's novel is their story, published under another name. The idea that real life is reflected in fiction runs throughout, and the screen-rights deal gives Adam authorship of the adaptation.

Marriage and commitment — Robin's reflections on marriage as hard work, worth fighting for, and beautiful in its imperfection, culminate in her plan for a new wedding dress.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 62 is the novel's resolution, delivered in the intimate form of a letter. It confirms the fates of the major characters — Henry Winter's death, Robin's survival and success, Adam's recommitment — while leaving the outside world ignorant of what happened in Scotland. The chapter transforms the novel's title into a literal artifact: Robin's book, Rock Paper Scissors, is about to be published, blurring the line between fiction and the story we have just read. The letter format also gives Robin the final word, allowing her to frame the narrative on her own terms. The chapter's closing image — a new wedding dress for a thirteenth anniversary that almost didn't happen — offers a hopeful, if imperfect, ending.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Robin leave one pair of scissors at Blackwater Chapel and keep the other?

Robin's mother bought two pairs of stork scissors, one for Robin and one for herself. Robin kept one pair and deliberately left the other at Blackwater Chapel because, as she writes, it is time to move on and some things are best left in the past. The scissors symbolize both the end of an unpleasant chapter and the opening of a new future — the pair she kept was used to open the box of advance copies of her novel.

2. What does the revelation that Henry Winter was Robin's father change about the story?

The revelation reframes Henry Winter's role throughout the novel. His involvement in the screen-rights deal — which Robin says Henry signed, or at least she did — suggests Robin has been managing the business of their story herself, possibly using her father's name. The confirmation that Henry is dead closes that thread and explains why Robin could claim authorship of the novel without fear of contradiction.

3. How does the chapter use the concept of schadenfreude?

The word of the year, schadenfreude — pleasure derived from another's misfortune — frames the chapter's emotional undercurrent. Robin takes a certain satisfaction in the ring that would not come off Amelia's hand, in the secrets kept from the world, and in the fact that Amelia never deserved to wear the sapphire ring. Yet Robin also acknowledges the imperfection of her own feelings, admitting the ring bothered her more than it should have, which keeps the chapter from being purely vindictive.

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