Olivetti

Olivetti is a vintage Lettera 22 Olivetti-brand typewriter who has thoughts, emotions, and goals. He has belonged to Beatrice for several years and has always enjoyed Beatrice’s writing process, especially when she crafted her memory-laden collection, Tapestries, which is now stored in Olivetti’s own memory. Olivetti’s initial chapters convey a disgruntled tone, and he expresses his dislike for certain changes in the Brindle household. He is annoyed that the children are growing up, and he dislikes the flawed qualities of humans, such as their bodily systems and impatience. While Olivetti has little autonomy, he is a clear communicator, both in his internal monologues and in his typed messages to other characters. With Remi, a Remington typewriter acquaintance that he meets in the pawn shop, Olivetti communicates by typing without paper; this is the accepted typewriter-to-typewriter method. When he decides to break the sacred typewriter rule in order to talk directly to Ernest and other humans, he must type his words onto paper. Although Olivetti is initially stolid and traditional, his willingness to break this sacred rule so brazenly speaks of his loyalty to Beatrice and his confidence that his skills and her stored writings will help the family find her.

Beatrice has called Olivetti the strongest of them all, and he proves this statement to be true throughout the novel as Ernest discovers the truth about his mother’s diagnosis. Olivetti contributes to the story through his memories about the past and explains sadly how Beatrice’s treatment has changed the family. Although he is hurt when Beatrice and Ernest leave him at the pawn shop and is later forced to endure a traumatic encounter with Callum Kino, Olivetti grows to empathize with the humans’ fears, pain, and worries. Once he accepts that his usefulness as a “pawn” helped Beatrice complete a necessary pilgrimage, his fortitude resurfaces, and he rallies to help the family with his emotional support. As Beatrice again fights against cancer, Olivetti plays a vital role as a cowriter on her more challenging days.

Quinn is the daughter of Mr. Corrie, who owns the Heartland Pawn Shop where Beatrice sells Olivetti. She enters the story when she becomes concerned about Beatrice, who breaks down crying just after making the deal to sell Olivetti. When Quinn happens upon Ernest putting up a notice about the missing Beatrice, she shows her brash, self-assured personality by involving herself in the mystery, first as a self-appointed detective’s helper to Ernest and then as Ernest’s friend and confidante.

Quinn is so certain that she can aid Ernest’s search that she boldly takes Olivetti from the Brindle apartment and stashes him in the woods. Although this action offends Ernest, he is later grateful for Quinn’s initiative, which allows Olivetti to generate the pages of Tapestries that reveal Beatrice’s location. More importantly, Ernest comes to understand that Quinn is kind and empathic enough to support those in need. This valuable lesson helps Ernest gain a greater degree of maturity and process Beatrice’s diagnosis so that he can move on with courage and positivity. Quinn is therefore a steady, static, archetypal ally to Ernest throughout the novel.

Beatrice’s character development occurs indirectly through Olivetti’s memories of the family’s earlier days and through Ernest’s interior monologues. Beatrice is a mother of four and an avid writer. She received Olivetti from her husband, Felix, years ago when he first proposed marriage. Beatrice spent long years composing her Tapestries, which consist of vignettes relating her experiences and memories as her children grew.

Only in the middle of the novel—Chapter 29—does the author finally reveal crucial information about Beatrice’s health. In this chapter, Ernest recalls the years of her fight against cancer more explicitly, and Olivetti supplies key details about the impact of Beatrice’s illness on the family. Olivetti also describes everyone’s relief when she was deemed cancer-free just a year before the story opens.

Beatrice is strongly motivated by her caretaking instincts; instead of worrying her family and upending their lives a second time with her treatment, she tries to postpone these negative impacts by leaving. She goes to the last place she felt protected and happy before her first diagnosis: Cannon Beach, Oregon. Beatrice’s pilgrimage there has a defined goal; she wants to revisit Haystack Rock, a massive rock formation that she wrote about after their family trip. When her family finally finds her perched on the rock itself, Beatrice swears that she always intended to come home; this declaration, along with her careful but sure-footed descent from the rock, suggests that she has been seeking a new perspective or an epiphany in this place that has become so meaningful to her. Ernest notices that her climb down to the beach makes her look like she can accomplish anything; her aura of strength in this moment symbolizes her renewed intent to fight against cancer once again.

Felix is Beatrice’s husband and the father of the Brindle children. He is a businessman who allows himself to be consumed by work, especially following the end of Beatrice’s treatment. Arlo states that Felix is often “stuck” in work mode. Working helps Felix put aside his worry for Beatrice and the children, and when he opts to attend a meeting instead of planning to take Ernest to what he believes is a therapy appointment, it is clear that Felix uses his work as a form of escape.

The text suggests that Felix was not always so busy with work; in the past, before Beatrice’s diagnosis, he engaged in romantic gestures such as giving Beatrice a typewriter and typing out his marriage proposal or calling Beatrice his “needle in a haystack” when he gave her a pine needle at Haystack Rock (220). He is consistently characterized as an emotionally strong and positive person. Although he worries about Beatrice, he determinedly keeps the children in a routine, patiently waits for progress in the case of Beatrice’s disappearance, accepts that Olivetti can communicate, and understands Beatrice’s need to defer reality by traveling to Cannon Beach. He is a resilient, static character and a kind and generous father and husband.