The Beach Club
49 pages • 1-hour read
Elin HilderbrandThe Beach Club
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Themes
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of illness, death, graphic violence, mental illness, and sexual content.
The Long-Term Impact of Emotional Voids
The Beach Club is filled with isolated people who have experienced loss or abandonment in ways that have shaped their relationships with others. The novel explores the various complex ways in which such voids can manifest, particularly when they occur in childhood; the loss of a parent, Hilderbrand suggests, can set one’s course in life.
For example, the death of Mack’s parents is at the root of his struggle with commitment. His relationship with Maribel alternates between comfortable companionship and his feeling that she is a “sheen of sweat, begging, pleading” (310)—imagery that evokes his discomfort with what he perceives as neediness. His relationship with Andrea relies on distance, both physically and emotionally. Although Andrea and Mack are sexually intimate, Andrea “never [tells] Mack she love[s] him” (123). Consequently, when she returns each summer, Mack feels that he is stuck “right […] where [she] left [him]” (118), yet this stasis serves his own emotional needs by allowing him to continuously defer any decision or action.
By contrast, Maribel’s “empty spot inside” causes her to cling to perceived stability (18), even at the expense of her own happiness. Maribel was born of a short-term affair, and she and her mother never felt secure. As an adult, Maribel mistakenly looks for Mack to fulfill this need. However, as Maribel comes to terms with the fact that Mack doesn’t want to marry her, she begins to realize how much of her actions stem from a desire to please her mother. She thinks that it will “take away the demons of [her mother’s] loneliness, to know that [Maribel], at least, won’t have to spend [her] life alone” (299). Through her character arc, the novel demonstrates how loss or abandonment can create a desperate need to maintain the relationships one does have, whether romantic or familial.
Jem’s situation blends elements of both Maribel’s and Mack’s. Jem’s parents are alive, but his sister, Gwennie, has bulimia and thus draws most of the attention in the family. The combination of comparative neglect and real family struggles makes Jem all the more wary of displeasing his parents, as he is sure he would by going to California to start a business. His fears come true when he reveals his plans, as his father harshly says, “I am not pleased […] And I’m not sending you any money” (336). As a result of these kinds of interactions, Jem struggles with self-doubt that initially prevents him from acting on his own desires—including his desire to be with Maribel. By juxtaposing the stories of Mack, Maribel, and Jem, Hilderbrand reveals the spectrum of ways in which individuals respond to loss and abandonment, from avoidance to people-pleasing.
Finding One’s Way Through Grief and Anger
In tandem with its exploration of trauma and loss, the novel also considers the healing process. Several characters in The Beach Club must give up emotional states that fail to serve them in order to find peaceful lives. These characters include Bill, who must give up his apprehension of death to embrace hope, Vance, who must stop feeling resentment to choose love, and Mack, who must give up feeling orphaned to find a place to call home.
In each case, the novel reveals the character’s initial response to their situation to be counterproductive. Bill’s chest pains make him anxious as he contemplates the end of his life. His fear of death manifests in both controlling behavior, as with trying to stop Cecily from leaving for Rio, and denial, as in his refusal to prepare for the hurricane. Collectively, these coping mechanisms seek to mitigate or ignore loss and uncertainty, yet they are self-defeating, driving Cecily away and heightening the dangers of the storm. Vance, too, is consumed by negative emotion. His anger and resentment over Mack getting the job of manager 12 years prior have only grown with time. He seethes over everyone seeming to adore Mack, which causes him to contemplate violence and threaten Mack with Beebe’s gun in an act unlikely to win Vance the respect he craves. Finally, Mack’s grief over the death of his parents keeps him from finding connections that might help assuage that loss. He can’t let go and is forever in limbo as a result.
Change occurs for the men when they realize that they can choose to respond differently to their circumstances. Lacey’s death is partly responsible for triggering this realization. When Bill hears his wife tell Mack that one can hope heaven exists, Bill takes her words to heart, reflecting, “[W]hen he was dying and ready to go, he would hope, too. He would hope that death did not separate them” (320). This pulls Bill back from complete despair, and he reaches out to both Mack and Therese in response. Meanwhile, Love announces that she is pregnant right after Lacey’s memorial service, causing Vance to feel like he has been released from an “evil spell” and given “a chance to start over with everything clean and in order” (341). Vance disposes of the gun after realizing his behavior was “disgusting, and criminal” (341). Choosing Love and their future child means leaving the past, and his resentment, behind once at for all. Finally, Lacey’s death helps Mack realize that he can say goodbye to the things he loved and still find joy in life. This allows him to sell the farm, a symbol of his unresolved grief, and accept the voice he hears telling him that Nantucket is “home.” By giving up fear, anger, and grief, the novel’s characters thus find their way toward new, restorative beginnings.
The Importance of Chance Encounters
Throughout The Beach Club, guests move in and out of the hotel. Some are nameless faces, but some become important catalysts in the lives of the main characters, giving them practical help and spurring their emotional change. Through these encounters, Hilderbrand suggests the power of even transient human connection.
Several characters receive the encouragement they need to pursue their dreams as a result of interactions with hotel guests. For Cecily, Jane Hassiter arrives at an opportune time. Cecily’s parents have rejected her desire to go abroad with Gabriel because they see him as “some boy, some foreign boy [they’ve] never met” and Cecily herself as “a child” (178). Jane, however, sympathizes when Cecily confesses how much she loves Gabriel; her own unhappy marriage makes her want Cecily’s romance to succeed, and she gives Cecily the remaining money she needs to fly to Rio. Cecily is also moved by the fact that Jane describes Gabriel as “so handsome,” affirming Cecily’s feelings for him rather than dismissing him in a xenophobic way. Although Cecily ultimately breaks up with Gabriel, the validation of her observations and choices plays a key role in her developing maturity and independence.
Jem also receives validation from a hotel guest: Neil Rosenblum, who is dying of cancer. Neil encourages Jem to go after what he wants in life, from Maribel to a career in California, since time is short. Neil even praises Jem in front of Maribel, touting his “business in California” and saying he’s “the kind of guy you run across once in a lifetime” (249), all in an effort to help Jem achieve his dreams. Neil’s belief in Jem’s potential is confirmed by his gift of $15,000, as well as plane tickets to California. Neil’s last note to Jem tells him to “Get her” (254), meaning Maribel, and this gives Jem confidence to take the opportunity to do so when it arises. Jem is also able to resist his parents’ pressure thanks to the boost in confidence his brief friendship with Neil has given him.
Even encounters that are themselves negative can spark positive change, Hilderbrand suggests. Love thinks she is looking for a low-commitment sexual encounter, largely to get pregnant. Because Arthur is married, rich, and flirts with her, he seems to fit the bill. Vance, by contrast, immediately sees through Arthur, noting that his description of his job seems suspicious. Love begins to wonder if she’s being “foolish, irresponsible, not to mention immoral” in pursuing Arthur (89). This is the first time the novel depicts Love as torn between getting what she wants (the baby) and another desire (having a relationship). Though Vance’s suspicions prove to be correct, Arthur proves to be the catalyst that opens Love up to the possibility of a relationship with Vance, as the depth of her feelings for Arthur forces her to confront her basic assumptions about what she wants. Through her story and those of characters like Jem and Cecily, The Beach Club suggests the impact that strangers can have on one’s life, revealing aspects of one’s deepest self.
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