Adelaide: A Novel

Content Warning: This section discusses death by suicide, sexual violence and abuse, and the complexities of living with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.

Adelaide’s relationship with Rory is the narrative lens through which the novel views the complexities of unrequited love. Adelaide struggles to feel valued in her relationship for several reasons. Her fantasies of romance are not realistic and therefore set her up for disappointment and dissatisfaction in her relationship. Her desperation to win Rory’s love stops her from acknowledging that he is not right for her and allows him to take her for granted, growing increasingly demanding and unkind.

Parts 1-9 trace the beginning and evolution of Adelaide’s entanglement with Rory and the relationship’s emotional and psychological effects on Adelaide. Because of Rory’s charm and resemblance to a “Disney prince,” Adelaide is quickly convinced that he is her soul mate. Their first outings feel “so swift, so laughably cinematic” that Adelaide gets caught in the idyllic romance of being with Rory (21). Her immediate comparison of the relationship to soulmates and cinematic romance illustrates her unrealistic expectations from the beginning. Adelaide’s love of the deeply romantic Call Me by Your Name reinforces her

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