Chapter summaries Upside Down Danielle Steel

Upside Down Chapter 2: First Impressions Fade, Real Bonds Form

⚠️ 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

After the morning's panic-button incident, Ardith Law emerges without her Wizard of Oz green makeup, looking chic and youthful. She leads Josh to the garage, hands him the keys to her Bentley, and they run errands on Rodeo Drive. During the drive, Ardith learns Josh is a 41-year-old Juilliard-trained actor stuck in sci‑fi and horror roles, working as a waiter. She offers blunt career advice—stop taking bad parts. Josh drives her to Hermès, Chanel, a bookstore, and a pharmacy; Oscar the poodle stays with him and briefly bares his fangs. After the errands, Ardith thanks him and lets him leave early. That evening, Ardith calls her daughter Morgan, a plastic surgeon, and later her boyfriend Bill West, who is filming in England. Josh goes home, works out, smokes a joint, and reflects on Ardith's advice, feeling his dreams rekindled. Over the next days Josh dresses appropriately, helps hang an Impressionist painting, takes Oscar to the groomer, and absorbs Ardith’s lessons about acting and life. By week’s end, he feels grateful for the job and deeply respects her.

Key Events

  • Ardith appears without green makeup, looking beautiful and young; she notes Josh’s inappropriate biker attire.
  • She hands Josh the Bentley keys; they drive to Rodeo Drive. She leaves Oscar in his lap.
  • Ardith and Josh have a long conversation about their backgrounds: Juilliard, USC film school, her rise from a farm in northern California, her late husband John Walker.
  • Josh shares his stalled acting career; Ardith advises him to be more selective and to grow as a person.
  • Ardith calls her daughter Morgan, who teases her about the morning’s panic-button incident. Morgan is a plastic surgeon in New York.
  • Ardith calls Bill West in England; he is enjoying his movie role; she feels happy for him but also ready to work again.
  • The next day Josh arrives properly dressed; they hang a French Impressionist painting of a mother and child.
  • Josh takes Oscar to the groomer and laughs at the contrast with his biker image.
  • Ardith reveals that both her parents disapproved of her acting, a parallel to Josh’s experience.
  • Josh observes that Ardith’s relationship with Bill is tender but lacks passion; he begins to feel protective of her.
  • He recognizes that his own prejudgments about her were wrong, and his respect grows each day.

Character Development

  • Ardith Law: Shows her softer, everyday side—she is candid, funny, and willing to laugh at herself. She admits she can act like a “spoiled brat” when tired. Her willingness to mentor a stranger reveals her generosity.
  • Josh: Embarks on a transformation from a scruffy starving actor into a more mature professional. He begins to absorb Ardith’s advice, both about acting and about self-presentation. His initial dread turns into eagerness to work and learn from her.
  • Oscar the poodle: A constant comic foil; he bares his fangs at Josh but eventually tolerates him. Symbolizes the domestic life Ardith maintains despite her fame.
  • Morgan: Sharp, disciplined, and skeptical. Her brief phone exchange with her mother shows a playful but distant relationship, with unspoken tensions over their differing views of John Walker.
  • Bill West: Offstage but present through Ardith’s calls. He is happy working in England, and Ardith loves him but craves solitude—a central tension in her life.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Appearance vs. Reality: Ardith’s green makeup hid her beauty; Josh’s biker look hid his intelligence and vulnerability. Clothing (black cashmere vs. torn jeans, tweed jacket vs. Metallica T‑shirt) signals status and changes how others treat them.
  • Mentorship: Ardith becomes an informal acting coach, pushing Josh to reject bad roles and to “grow as a person.” She offers to send him to her agent if he proves worthy.
  • Solitude vs. Companionship: Ardith admits she needs time alone to think and read, a need Bill does not understand. Josh also values his independence but begins to enjoy working alongside her.
  • Perseverance: Josh’s tenacity—ten years of bad movies and waiting tables—is a central motif. Ardith rekindles his hope, and the chapter ends with him feeling that “every day with her was a gift.”
  • The Impressionist Painting: The painting of a mother and child reminds Ardith of young Morgan. It symbolizes her regret about her failed marriage and her daughter’s idealized image of her father.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 2 transforms the premise from a mistaken-identity comedy into a serious exploration of two lonely artists finding unexpected kinship. It establishes the mentor‑mentee dynamic that will drive the story, reveals the hidden humanity behind Ardith’s star persona, and deepens Josh’s internal conflict between his artistic ambitions and his day‑job reality. The chapter also introduces the strained mother‑daughter relationship with Morgan and the comfortable but unpassionate partnership with Bill, both of which will likely play larger roles later.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. How does Ardith’s advice to Josh about acting reflect her own career philosophy?
    Ardith tells Josh to stop accepting all roles, especially bad sci‑fi and horror films, and to “put more of yourself into it.” This mirrors her own standard of never settling for less than a perfect property. She believes growth comes from discipline and self‑reflection, not from taking shortcuts or easy parts.

  2. What does the contrast between Ardith’s Rodeo Drive errands and Josh’s charity‑shop apartment reveal about their respective worlds?
    Ardith’s errands (Hermès, Chanel, Bentley) underscore her wealth and fame, while Josh’s sparse Goodwill furniture and rented apartment highlight his hand‑to‑mouth existence. Yet both share a history of waiting tables and parental disapproval, which humanizes the divide and creates a foundation for mutual respect.

  3. In what way does the conversation with Morgan illuminate Ardith’s relationship with her past?
    Morgan still idealizes her late father, John Walker, despite his public infidelity and exploitation of Ardith. Ardith avoids the subject because their views are “diametrically opposed.” This shows that Ardith carries unresolved pain from her marriage and that she and Morgan have a fragile peace built on silence.