Chapter 7: Bob Burgess Delivers More Than Groceries
⚠️ 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 two days after Bob learned from Jim that Helen is dying. It is Thursday, Bob’s routine day to bring groceries to Mrs. Hasselbeck, an elderly woman living in a small, chaotic house that smells strongly of cat urine. Bob enters wearing a mask to protect her. Mrs. Hasselbeck greets him with her usual comment that Thursdays are her favorite day. Bob places the groceries—cat food, peanut butter, apples, bread, orange juice, instant coffee, and diluted gin—on her cluttered counter.
Mrs. Hasselbeck shares a story: that morning she watched two women talking on the sidewalk for over thirty minutes, and it made her happy. Bob listens. She then speaks about her husband, dead twelve years, and her five sons who have all moved away. She confesses that all five boys hated her during high school, and she still does not know why. Bob deflects by saying adolescents often hate their parents. She asks if he hated his mother. Bob says he probably wasn’t nice to her, but internally he thinks of his father’s death and his determination to always be good to his mother.
She then asks Bob for a favor: to write a large ‘B’ on the back of her underpants so she can tell back from front. Bob takes four pairs of off-white underpants, finds the worn labels, and marks each with a B. She thanks him and says he can do the pair she is wearing next week. Bob reminds her to be careful with the gin.
When Bob gets into his car, he sits for a moment, feeling a heavy weight inside him, then drives away.
Key Events
- Bob arrives at Mrs. Hasselbeck’s house for his Thursday grocery delivery.
- Mrs. Hasselbeck tells Bob about watching two women talk on the sidewalk and how it made her happy.
- She reveals that all five of her sons hated her during high school, a fact that still bewilders her.
- Bob deflects her question about whether he hated his mother, hiding his own traumatic past.
- Mrs. Hasselbeck asks Bob to mark the back of her underpants with a ‘B’ so she can identify the back.
- Bob complies, then leaves; he sits in his car overwhelmed by a heavy emotional weight.
Character Development
Bob Burgess
Bob shows immense patience and kindness during the visit, listening to Mrs. Hasselbeck’s stories and performing her unusual request without complaint. Yet his internal experience reveals the burden he carries: the memory of killing his father, the secret of Helen’s dying, and the effort required to maintain a gentle exterior. His deflection when asked about his mother underscores his lifelong habit of hiding pain.
Mrs. Hasselbeck
Mrs. Hasselbeck is lonely, vulnerable, and physically frail, but she actively finds joy in small observations—like the two women talking. Her bewilderment about her sons’ hatred suggests either a lack of self-awareness or a genuine inability to understand their adolescent anger. Her request about the underpants highlights her declining independence and the small humiliations of old age.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Loneliness and Isolation: Mrs. Hasselbeck’s solitary life and her fixation on the sidewalk conversation emphasize the deep loneliness of aging. Her weekly interaction with Bob is a lifeline.
Hidden Grief and Secret Burdens: Bob carries two major secrets: his father’s death and Helen’s terminal illness. The chapter shows how these burdens weigh on him even during routine acts of kindness.
Small Acts of Kindness: Bob’s willingness to listen, to bring groceries, and to mark the underpants are small but meaningful gestures that provide Mrs. Hasselbeck with dignity and connection.
The Weight of the Past: Both Bob and Mrs. Hasselbeck are haunted by past relationships—Bob by his father’s murder, she by her sons’ rejection. The past presses into the present.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter deepens the reader’s understanding of Bob’s interior life, linking his present-day kindness to his traumatic past. It also illustrates Strout’s signature ability to find emotional weight in ordinary moments—a grocery delivery, a request about underwear. The chapter subtly connects Bob’s hidden knowledge of Helen’s illness to his own secret history, suggesting that empathy often arises from shared pain.
Study Questions and Answers
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Why does Bob feel a heavy weight after leaving Mrs. Hasselbeck’s house?
Bob is burdened by the convergence of his own secret past (killing his father) and the newly revealed secret of Helen’s terminal illness. The visit reminds him of the strain of hiding his true self and the grief of impending loss. -
What does Mrs. Hasselbeck’s request about her underpants symbolize?
The request symbolizes her vulnerability and loss of autonomy, as well as her trust in Bob. It also highlights the small, everyday indignities that accompany aging and the need for human connection to preserve dignity. -
How does Bob’s response to Mrs. Hasselbeck’s story about her sons reveal his character?
Bob deflects her pain by generalizing adolescent behavior, revealing his discomfort with direct emotional confrontation. This avoidance reflects his own unresolved feelings about his father and his mother, and his habit of keeping painful truths hidden.