Chapter 33 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 with Julia and Mark driving to the library's annual donor event. Julia is in the middle of a tense text exchange with Alma, who wants to borrow the Subaru to drive to Margo's parents' beach house in Michigan for the weekend instead of attending prom, which Alma considers beneath her. Julia refuses, and Alma calls to argue, pointing out that she could die in a car crash backing out of the driveway just as easily as on the highway. Mark chimes in that he and Ben need the Subaru for a bike ride and brewery trip that Brady has organized, which conveniently gives Julia cover for her refusal. Alma hangs up on her mother.

At the event, Julia is talking with an intern she privately nicknames Gauchos (Tara) when she spots Helen Russo across the room, talking with a board member and Melinda Wolcott. Julia is stunned—she hadn't expected to see Helen there. Helen approaches Julia, and they embrace. Helen explains that she came specifically because she saw Julia parked outside her house the previous month. They talk about Pete's death, and Helen describes her grief in frank terms: the first months were the worst of her life, things gradually got less bad, and she's now settled into something new that isn't as good. She admits there are days she's delighted to be alone and unencumbered, but the longer she's happy, the harder the comedown, and the comedown makes her miss Pete more than ever.

Helen invites Julia to leave with her for a glass of something nicer than the boxed wine on offer, and Julia is tempted—but Mark returns. Mark and Helen meet and chat. Helen flirts with Mark, and Mark flirts back. Helen mentions knowing Ben as a child, and Julia lies, saying Ben was at work with her a few times when Helen was there to see Melinda. Helen plays along. Mark takes a phone call and steps away.

Alone again, Helen tells Julia she seems more confident than she did twenty years ago. Julia admits it's all an act, and Helen says that's the point—Julia has finally learned to play along like everyone else. They agree to get together properly and exchange numbers.

After the event, Mark jokes that the intern Tara has a crush on Julia. Julia asks about his phone call; he says it was work, but she's certain he's lying. Mark says Helen seemed familiar, and Julia deflects, claiming she'd forgotten Helen's name. They decide to skip dinner and go home.

Key Events

Alma asks to borrow the Subaru for a Michigan beach trip instead of prom; Julia refuses, and Alma hangs up
Mark reveals he and Ben need the Subaru for Brady's bike ride and brewery outing
Julia spots Helen Russo at the library donor event
Helen explains she came because she saw Julia outside her house
Helen describes her grief over Pete in raw, honest terms
Mark and Helen meet; Helen flirts with him
Julia lies about how Helen knows Ben
Helen tells Julia she seems more confident; Julia admits it's an act
Helen and Julia exchange numbers and agree to meet
Mark's phone call raises Julia's suspicions; she suspects he's lying
Mark says Helen seemed familiar; Julia deflects
The couple skips dinner and heads home

Character Development

Julia is caught between two versions of herself in this chapter. With Alma, she's the anxious mother trying to protect her daughter from the dangers of the highway. With Helen, she's the younger woman who once confided everything to this older mentor. Helen's observation that Julia seems more confident—and Julia's admission that it's all an act—captures the central tension of her character: she has built a life on performance, and Helen is one of the few people who sees through it. Julia's lie about how Helen knows Ben shows how quickly she reverts to self-protection when her past threatens to surface.

Helen emerges as a woman transformed by grief but not defined by it. Her description of her life after Pete—the peaks and valleys, the days she's delighted to be alone, the comedowns that make her miss him more—is remarkably candid. She's also perceptive, immediately recognizing that Julia's confidence is a performance. Her willingness to reach out, to come to the event specifically to see Julia, suggests she values their connection as much as Julia does.

Mark is present but opaque in this chapter. He helps Julia with the Alma situation, charms Helen, and then takes a phone call that Julia is certain is not about work. His lie—whatever it is—mirrors Julia's own deception, creating a parallel between the two spouses that neither acknowledges.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Matching scarves: Julia and Helen both wear horse-patterned scarves, a visual echo of their connection. The scarves suggest that despite the eighteen years apart, they are still aligned in some fundamental way.

Boxed wine vs. fine wine: The donor event's boxed wine and waxy cheese stand in for the tepid, performative social world Julia inhabits. Helen's offer of something nicer represents an escape into authenticity and intimacy.

Playing along: Helen's observation that Julia has learned to play along like everyone else is the chapter's central insight. Julia's entire adult life—her marriage, her career, her parenting—has been a performance, and Helen is the one person who names it.

The past resurfacing: Helen's unexpected appearance forces Julia to confront the person she used to be. The chapter is structured around the collision of past and present, with Julia's lie about Ben serving as a reminder that the past can't be fully buried.

Marital secrets and lies: Both Julia and Mark are lying in this chapter—Julia about Helen, Mark about his phone call. The narrator notes that there aren't enough hours in the day to tell each other everything, suggesting that their marriage runs on carefully managed omissions.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter reconnects Julia with the one person who knew her before she became the person she is now. Helen's reappearance forces Julia to reckon with the gap between her performed self and her authentic self—a gap that Helen immediately identifies. The chapter also deepens the novel's exploration of marriage as a series of negotiated silences: Julia lies about Helen, Mark lies about his phone call, and neither confronts the other. The parallel deceptions suggest that their marriage, like Julia's confidence, is built on playing along. Helen's frank account of grief also offers a counterpoint to Julia's anxious avoidance of mortality, and her invitation to reconnect opens the door for the next phase of their relationship.

Study Questions

1. Why does Julia lie about how Helen knows Ben, and what does the lie reveal about her?

Julia tells Mark that Ben was at work with her a few times when Helen was there to see Melinda, when in fact Helen knew Ben because of Julia's earlier relationship with her. The lie comes easily to Julia, which frightens her—she notes she's a little scared of how easily it came after years of telling the truth. The lie reveals that Julia still isn't ready to confront her past with Mark, and that she will protect her marriage's carefully constructed version of her history even at the cost of honesty.

2. What does Helen mean when she says Julia has figured out how to play along?

Helen is describing the performance of adulthood—the way people learn to present a confident, composed version of themselves to the world. When Julia says her confidence is all an act, Helen agrees, but reframes it: the act itself is the achievement. Julia has learned to play along with the social expectations of her life, and that playing along has gotten her where she is. The comment also carries a deeper implication: Julia has been playing along in her marriage, her career, and her relationships, and Helen is one of the few people who sees through the performance.

3. Why does Julia suspect Mark is lying about his phone call, and why doesn't she confront him?

Julia is certain Mark is lying in the way a spouse can sometimes just know, but she doesn't call him on it because she fears seeming like a psychopath. The narrator suggests that there aren't enough hours in the day to tell each other everything, and that marriages have pockets where both partners can't fit. Julia's decision to let it go mirrors her own deception about Helen: both spouses are protecting their separate truths, and the chapter suggests this is simply how their marriage operates.