Anxious People: Chapter 36 Summary & Analysis

Julia tells the bank robber to give her the pistol: she needs to shoot the lock out of the bathroom door. The bank robber argues and then, a voice in the bathroom says, “don’t shoot.” When the door opens, it reveals a middle-aged man dressed in underwear, socks, and a rabbit head. He says he’s just doing his job. The man is clearly a real Stockholmer, not an idiot like Jim and Jack mean when they use “Stockholmer,” or gay like Estelle means when she says “Stockholmer.” He asks Anna-Lena to tell them to not shoot. Roger stares at Anna-Lena, who’s sobbing. She says this is Lennart, and it’s not what Roger thinks. Roger asks if Lennart is another prospective buyer.

When Anna-Lena can’t answer, Roger lurches for Lennart. Ro and Julia hold him back. This upsets Anna-Lena. Retirement hasn’t been easy for Roger, as his bosses forced him to retire—and it was a shock for Roger to discover that the business kept on working fine without him. The pain of that has made him a bit slow on the uptake. As Roger shouts at Lennart, Zara tells the bank robber to take charge and shoot the rabbit in the leg. The robber refuses. Lennart begs the robber not to shoot. He says that his head’s stuck, and that he’s with Anna-Lena.

Roger has never been a man of many words, but he loves Anna-Lena. He knows her mirrored cabinet in the bathroom is important to her, so he always installs it first in a new apartment and makes sure the hinges stay tight. But now, she’s saying that Roger was never supposed to find out. She says she and Lennart met on the internet and it “just happened.” Roger asks the bank robber how much they want for shooting Lennart. Anna-Lena shrieks that a murder might make the price per square foot go up.

Anna-Lena reveals that things between her and Lennart have been going on for a year, and it’s all been for Roger’s sake. Lennart tells Roger that he’s a professional interrupter. Handing Roger a business card, he says that sometimes he's the alcoholic neighbor. This is the most expensive package: he sits on the toilet in the rabbit head. People don’t forget what they see when they open the bathroom door, so they don’t buy the apartment. Anna-Lena asks if Roger remembers the apartment last year with the drunk neighbor throwing spaghetti. That was Lennart. Roger realizes that his negotiating tactics don’t actually work. Anna-Lena says she just wanted Roger to win. She doesn’t say that she just wants a home.

Roger paces, kicks the baseboards, and then rushes Lennart and knocks him to the ground. Julia helps Lennart up and tells him to get out of the bathroom. Roger’s nose is bleeding, but he rejects Anna-Lena’s offer of a tissue and strides into the hallway. Anna-Lena walks into the closet and sits on a stool. She doesn’t notice the cold air blowing in.

“Stockholm” isn’t just a place. It’s a catch-all for people who are irritating, superior, and don’t understand. Everyone has Stockholmers in their lives, even people who live in Stockholm. Everyone in the apartment is silent until the bank robber says, “forgive me” and “sorry.” Everyone hears, and they all know what it’s like to make a mistake. Everyone needs to be allowed to forgive someone.