Chapter 2 Summary: Beatrice's Story

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

(Note: This notice is part of the study companion, not the book itself.)

Summary

Beatrice Shoemaker starts her first day at Melville, a smaller, less prestigious school than Emlen Academy, where she had felt out of place and academically below average. In her American Literature class, she recognizes Doff Cartwright, a former junior-high classmate, who is surreptitiously searching for emergency contraception on her phone. Beatrice, a virgin, recalls an awkward conversation her mother had with her before she left for boarding school—a talk about sex, masturbation, and the emotional risks of intimacy. The memory is both embarrassing and revealing, showing the gap between her mother's progressive intentions and Beatrice's discomfort.

During a free-writing exercise, Beatrice chooses to write about the murder of Drue Cavanaugh, an Instagram influencer killed on her wedding day at Cape Cod, in the house next door to her family's property. She describes her family's long history of summers on the Cape, the joy of sailing, and the annual gatherings with relatives. She recounts how, last year, her uncle persuaded her father to rent out the house for a week, so the family vacationed in the Bahamas instead. While there, they learned of Drue's murder. Beatrice reflects on how she has thought about the dead woman all year—imagining their shared spaces, the beaches, the restaurants, and the sense of a life cut short. She also reveals her father's rigid expectations for her future: he insists she attend Emlen and pursue a liberal arts degree, dismissing her interest in art and crafting. The chapter ends with Beatrice's free-writing conclusion: Cape Cod is beautiful but not safe, and perhaps no place is truly safe for girls and women.

Key Events

Beatrice transfers to Melville after hating Emlen, where she felt average and out of place.
In class, she notices Doff Cartwright searching for Plan B on her phone, sparking a memory of her mother's sex talk.
The free-writing prompt leads Beatrice to write about Drue Cavanaugh's murder and her family's Cape Cod summers.
She recalls the family decision to rent out the Cape house and vacation in the Bahamas instead.
Beatrice reflects on Drue's online persona versus her real life, and on her own future choices.
Her father's dismissive attitude toward her artistic ambitions is revealed.
The chapter closes with Beatrice's meditation on safety and the vulnerability of women.

Character Development

Beatrice emerges as a thoughtful, observant teenager who is still figuring out her identity. Her dislike of Emlen stems not from laziness but from a mismatch between her values and the school's hyper-competitive culture. She finds meaning in crafting—knitting, needle-felting, embroidery—which she sees as genuine self-expression, unlike the resume-building of her peers. Her clothing choices (prairie dresses, pearl buttons, dyed hair) are deliberate acts of self-definition, a way to claim her own aesthetic in a world that expects conformity.

Her relationship with her parents is nuanced. She is embarrassed by her mother's earnest attempts at connection, yet she also recognizes her mother's discomfort and even feels a flicker of smugness when she challenges her mother's progressive claims. Her father's disappointment in her transfer to Melville and his insistence on a conventional path create a quiet tension; Beatrice wants to please him but also wants to follow her own interests. The murder of Drue Cavanaugh forces her to confront mortality and the fragility of the future, making her more determined to think critically about the life she wants.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Identity vs. Performance: Beatrice's crafting and clothing are authentic expressions, while Drue's social media persona was a constructed facade. The chapter contrasts genuine selfhood with performed identity.
Social Media Facade: Drue's online perfection hid a more complicated reality; her death exposed the gap between image and truth.
Female Vulnerability: The chapter underscores the danger women face, from the murder itself to the casual objectification Beatrice experiences from boys in class.
Class and Privilege: The Shoemakers' Cape Cod property, the rental for $20,000, and the contrast between Emlen and Melville highlight class distinctions and the weight of family expectations.
Parental Expectations: Beatrice's father's insistence on a traditional path clashes with her artistic ambitions, illustrating the generational and gendered pressures on young women.
Coming of Age: Beatrice's reflections on Drue's death and her own future signal a maturation process, as she begins to question safety, choice, and autonomy.
Artistic Self-Expression: Crafting is not a hobby but a core part of Beatrice's identity, a way to resist the narrow definitions of success imposed on her.
Cape Cod as Symbol: The Cape represents cherished memories and family tradition, but also becomes a site of violence, complicating its nostalgic value.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter establishes Beatrice as a central narrator and introduces the novel's central mystery—the murder of Drue Cavanaugh—from a personal, intimate angle. It also sets up key thematic tensions: the contrast between appearance and reality, the constraints of privilege, and the search for autonomy. Beatrice's free-writing exercise becomes a vehicle for her to process trauma and articulate her fears, making her a sympathetic and introspective guide for the reader. The chapter also foreshadows the novel's exploration of how violence disrupts ordinary life and how young women navigate a world that often feels unsafe.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Beatrice choose to write about Drue Cavanaugh for her free-writing assignment?

Beatrice chooses to write about Drue because the murder has haunted her all year. She feels a strange connection to the dead woman—they shared the same beaches, restaurants, and even the same stretch of sand. Writing about Drue allows Beatrice to process her own anxieties about the future, safety, and the fragility of life. It also gives her a way to explore the gap between Drue's curated online image and the reality of her death, a theme that resonates with Beatrice's own struggles with identity and performance.

2. How does Beatrice's relationship with her father affect her sense of self?

Her father's expectations are a source of pressure. He dismisses her interest in art and insists she follow a conventional academic path, saying, “He who pays the piper calls the tune.” This creates a conflict between her desire to please him and her need to pursue her own passions. Beatrice's crafting and clothing choices are acts of rebellion, but she also feels guilt about disappointing him. The tension highlights the broader theme of parental expectations versus individual identity.

3. What does the chapter suggest about the safety of women, and how does Beatrice's conclusion reflect that?

The chapter suggests that no place is truly safe for women, regardless of beauty, wealth, or privilege. Drue Cavanaugh was a wealthy, beautiful influencer with a seemingly perfect life, yet she was murdered on her wedding day. Beatrice's final line—that Cape Cod is beautiful but not safe, and perhaps no place is safe—reflects a growing awareness of female vulnerability. The chapter implies that violence can strike anywhere, and that even cherished, familiar spaces can become sites of danger.