Dolly All the Time

“I think of my mother and how much she loved the careless way rich people treat valuable things. If carelessness is aspirational, my mother nailed it when she walked away from us, easily her most valuable things.”

Dolly’s observation juxtaposes the material carelessness of the wealthy with her mother’s emotional carelessness in abandoning her family. This comparison introduces the theme of The Harmful Consequences of Class Division by linking wealth to entitled detachment. It also reveals Dolly’s complicated relationship with her past and the world Stewart represents.

“The thing is, Dolly, now that I know about it, and I know it’s not safe here, or at least it won’t be soon, I have to report it. And if it’s not fixed this place could be condemned.”

The fire chief’s lines deliver the story’s inciting incident, transforming a manageable repair into a catastrophic financial crisis. The threat of condemnation raises the stakes to the potential loss of the family home. This external pressure directly motivates Dolly’s decision to enter a fake dating relationship with Stewart.

“What if I asked you to play along?”

Stewart’s question marks the formal beginning of the novel’s central premise, shifting their dynamic from a chance encounter to a business proposition. The phrase “play along” frames their future interactions as a performance, a ruse that blurs the lines between reality and illusion. This arrangement reflects the power imbalance rooted in his social standing and her financial need.

“Audrey dumping me is practically proof that they’re right. The way my mom looked at me when she saw the photo of Audrey with that guy—I don’t even have the job yet, and I couldn’t keep my relationship going. This is all really bad timing.”

Stewart reveals his motivation for the fake relationship is rooted in professional ambition and familial pressure. This dialogue characterizes him as a man driven by the need to control his image and secure his legacy. The quote highlights how, in his world, personal relationships are transactional, one example of The Harmful Consequences of Class Division.

“I’m about to push back, but they’ve just brought in multiple options for Providence, and I have to sit down. I really wish Naomi was here. I pop a cheese puff into my mouth and carefully wipe my hands. ‘Busy, you pick.’”

This moment illustrates Dolly’s feeling of being overwhelmed and out of her element in the world of the wealthy. Her deferral to Busy demonstrates her temporary surrender of agency as she steps into a role crafted for her. The small, grounding detail of eating a cheese puff contrasts sharply with the opulent setting.

“‘It’s the palms,’ I say to our hands. ‘There’s a heartbeat there, or at least something happens that releases oxytocin into your system.’”

This quote is a key moment where Dolly’s practical lesson on feigning intimacy becomes a moment of genuine connection. By grounding the feeling of touch in the science of oxytocin, she both intellectualizes and reveals the real emotional response she’s having, blurring the line between their business arrangement and their developing feelings.

“In case you’re not following, I’m the Comfort Inn. I’m there in a pinch, right where you expect me to be, by the side of the highway. I’ll take you in and give you tea. But Stewart Whitfield doesn’t stay at the Comfort Inn.”

This metaphor defines Dolly’s perception of the class divide between her and Stewart. She sees herself as a practical, reliable, “Comfort Inn” that’s “there in a pinch” but ultimately not a place for someone of his status. This highlights her deep-seated insecurity and belief that their relationship cannot be permanent due to The Harmful Consequences of Class Division.

“And one day, when she’d been gone for about three weeks, Patsy and I rode our bikes home from school, walked into the house, and she started to cry. There was a smell. I can still smell it, actually. It was the smell of garbage and decay and giving up. The smell that tells you no one’s coming back.”

This quote uses olfactory imagery to define the moment Dolly’s childhood ended and her role as caretaker began. The scent of “decay and giving up” illustrates the emotional and physical neglect left by her mother. This foundational memory explains her deep-seated need for control and her assumption of The Burden of Caretaking.

“And I was kind of freaking out because Christopher’s bus was coming in an hour. My dad would be home an hour after that. I couldn’t let them see Patsy that way, know how bad she felt. So I brought her over to the couch and covered her up with our grandmother’s heavy crocheted blanket. I remember I kissed her on the forehead, something I’d never done before. And I cleaned the house.”

This memory marks the moment Dolly assumed the role of family caretaker. Faced with her mother’s abandonment and sister’s despair, she suppresses her own fear to restore order. Her actions in this excerpt are the start of her lifelong pattern of managing chaos and prioritizing everyone else’s well-being over her own needs.

“I hope she’ll be happy, really. And I’m not just saying that. I’ve known her for a long time. But I never felt that feeling you’re supposed to feel. Like I never thought about her when we were apart. And I never got excited when she called.”

This quote is a significant moment of introspection for Stewart as he distinguishes between social obligation and genuine affection. By stating he never felt a real connection to Audrey, he implicitly highlights the different, more authentic feelings he is developing for Dolly. The statement is a subtle confession, revealing his emotional availability and the potential for real love.

“I can totally picture that. Crowds of people gawking at Great-Granddad stuff, listening to the story of how Stewart Whitfield took the reins and let it all go to shit.”

Grant’s cruel prediction verbalizes Stewart’s deepest fear of failing to uphold his family’s legacy. This taunt weaponizes family history and highlights the intense pressure that triggers Stewart’s subsequent panic attack.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got this.”

Stewart’s simple declaration is revolutionary for the fiercely self-reliant Dolly. The collective pronoun “we” shatters her isolation, reframing her crisis by showing that she doesn’t have to carry The Burden of Caretaking alone. This act moves beyond their contractual obligation, demonstrating deep care that begins to dismantle her emotional defenses and challenge her self-sufficiency.

“Is it still just a pretend thing for his image or whatever?”

Gus’s question cuts through the ambiguity of Dolly and Stewart’s arrangement, forcing Dolly to confront her own feelings. This highlights how their performance has become convincingly real, especially to a child. The inquiry is a critical point where the lines between pretense and genuine connection have blurred significantly for everyone involved.

“Anyone would. It’s like asking all the people at the Louvre why they’re not taking the Mona Lisa home to hang in their bathrooms. They’d like to, they think it’s pretty. But it’s not theirs to take.”

Dolly’s Mona Lisa analogy articulates her feelings of inadequacy and the vast social distance she perceives between herself and Stewart. She views him as a priceless, unattainable work of art, admired by all but belonging to none, especially not her. This highlights her deep-seated insecurities about her own worth.

“This is actually the sixty-thousand-dollar meal.”

Dolly’s thought illustrates the theme of The Harmful Consequences of Class Division. The line frames the dinner through the lens of its cash value, the exact amount needed to save her family’s home, offering a reminder of the transactional nature of her relationship with Stewart at this point of the novel.

“Dolly, you’re probably the first woman I’ve ever picked that wasn’t all wrong. And you were an accident.”

Stewart’s paradoxical statement reveals the depth of his feelings and offers hope about their future together. Calling Dolly an “accident” acknowledges the manufactured premise of their relationship, yet he simultaneously validates her as more “right” than his previous, authentic partners.

“I’ve jumped off a cliff. I am a person who never even wanted to go to the mountains, never even liked standing near the safety rope to look down at the view. But now I’ve gone all the way up and I’ve hurled myself off and I’m free-falling. It feels good but the landing’s going to be tough.”

Dolly’s extended metaphor of jumping off a cliff illustrates her emotional state, capturing both the exhilaration of love and her deep-seated fear of vulnerability. This figurative language highlights a major character shift, as the perpetually cautious caretaker abandons her “safety rope” for a risk she knows could end in pain.

“Like it’s nothing, like he’s agreed to go get me a glass of water, he says, ‘Then I’d change the world.’”

The simile that likens Stewart’s romantic declaration to an agreement “to go get [her] a glass of water” underscores the air of casual certainty that convinces Dolly of his sincerity. The author uses this moment of ultimate commitment to set up the destructive irony of his imminent failure. His words create a powerful, albeit fragile, sense of security.

“‘I did it because of what happened with Audrey. Because Mom’s so worried I wouldn’t make time for something like this.’ He gestures to me without looking at me, like I’m ‘this.’”

This quote marks the story’s climax and Stewart’s betrayal. By framing their relationship as a strategic solution to a family problem, he erases their genuine connection. The narrator’s observation that “[h]e gestures to [Dolly] without looking at [her]” physically manifests his emotional abandonment, objectifying her and proving his family’s legacy supersedes his feelings.

“‘I don’t know,’ he says. How could he not know? My heart starts to burn. Heartburn, I think, an odd combination of words. Heart burn. My heart is burning because he doesn’t know.”

This quote captures the moment Dolly fully comprehends Stewart’s betrayal. His simple, noncommittal phrase negates all their shared intimacy. The narrator’s focus on the physical sensation of a “burning” heart illustrates the visceral pain of his emotional abandonment.

“I don’t have Stewart anymore, but I don’t want to go back to who I was. I take scissors from the medicine cabinet and trim an inch off my hair and decide to wear my yellow pants to the first day of school.”

The act of trimming her hair signals Dolly’s resolve to take control of her life and reclaim her identity. Unlike the professional makeover that began her fake relationship, this is a personal, private act of self-definition.

“‘My favorite thing about myself,’ I say, ‘is that I don’t need help. I make do. I’m someone who can make something out of nothing. This summer I loosened up on that a little, sort of pretending I was a different kind of person. I wasn’t gripping my righteousness so tightly.’”

Dolly’s reflection shows her beginning to deconstruct her identity. The pride she took in being the fixer is now viewed as “righteousness” she was “gripping.” This shift is a key moment of self-awareness, where she recognizes that her caretaking role has become a burden she is ready to loosen.

“I think what Gus needs is for me to step up a bit in my own life. I think I’m done making everyone’s shitty behavior okay.”

This internal monologue signifies Dolly’s important decision to break a lifelong pattern. The phrase “making everyone’s shitty behavior okay” identifies the emotional labor she has performed for her mother, her ex-boyfriend, and now Stewart. Her resolution is about creating a healthier model for her son by demonstrating self-respect and setting boundaries.