Milkman: Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis

The next day, eldest sister shows up at middle sister’s home to let her know that Milkman has been shot and killed. Middle sister does not care about Milkman—in fact, she is happy he is dead—but the satisfied look on her sister’s face enrages her. She cannot believe that eldest sister would take so much joy in Milkman’s death, considering she believes Milkman is middle sister’s lover. To upset eldest sister, middle sister tells her she looks like she is having an orgasm. In response, eldest sister slaps her in the face.

Despite her spat with eldest sister, middle sister feels a sense of relief, as all the anxiety she had been feeling finally leaves her body. As information comes out about Milkman’s death in the media, middle sister learns that the state shot several people who they mistook for Milkman before managing to get Milkman himself. Among those victims was real milkman, who is still recovering in the hospital. The Irish Catholic media pounces on the state’s mistake and runs various critical stories about it.

Additionally, following Milkman’s death, the papers reveal that his real name was in fact Milkman. Everyone assumed Milkman was an alias of some sort because it was too bizarre to be a real name. However, Milkman’s official papers state otherwise. Middle sister does not think Milkman is all that strange a name given the number of other people named after occupations, such as Hunter, Carver, and Mason. Although the community has some fun with the detail regarding Milkman’s name, the media does not release anything significant regarding his paramilitary activities.

Because middle sister no longer has to go on a date with Milkman, she decides to go out to her usual club. However, at the club, she runs into Somebody McSomebody, who corners her in the women’s bathroom and pulls a gun on her. Previously, middle sister received notes from Somebody McSomebody where he threatened suicide if she did not accept his advances. Now, she worries that he has changed his mind and decided to kill her instead.

Middle sister manages to get the gun away from Somebody McSomebody for a moment, but he quickly wrestles it back away from her. However, moments later, several other women enter the bathroom, see what is going on, and get the gun away from Somebody McSomebody. As a result of his behavior in the club, Somebody McSomebody gets convicted in a paramilitary court for improper usage of a weapon.

In the meantime, middle sister’s mother and a number of other women from the neighborhood have been paying regular hospital visits to real milkman. The state forces and the renouncers do not know what to do about all the women coming to visit real milkman. At first, each side wants to investigate the women, as they assume real milkman is some sort of asset for the other side. However, they eventually realize that real milkman is simply a well-liked member of the community and decide not to pursue the case.

After one of middle sister’s mother’s visits to the hospital, she comes home and complains about her figure. She is in love with real milkman and wants him to fall in love with her. However, she feels her body has not held up over the years, and therefore she does not believe he will find her attractive. Middle sister does her best to cheer her mother up and remind her that she is an attractive woman.

However, middle sister’s mother tells middle sister that it does not matter anyway because she has decided to let nuclear boy’s mother—who is also Somebody McSomebody’s mother—have real milkman. She came to this decision after the other women in the community told her that nuclear boy’s mother is most deserving of real milkman’s affection because she has suffered the most from political causes.

Middle sister reminds her mother that real milkman is responsible for choosing his romantic partner, not the community. Additionally, she tells her mother that the other women in the community are just trying to deceive her. They know middle sister’s mother is the person who is most likely to win real milkman’s heart, so they are trying to get her out of the way.

Over the next few days, middle sister’s mother realizes middle sister is right and is furious with the other women for trying to fool her. Still, she lacks the confidence in herself to believe that real milkman could be interested in her. Out of ideas, middle sister calls eldest sister and asks her to come over. Although there is still a lot of tension between middle sister and eldest sister, they momentarily set their differences aside to help their mother. Ultimately, eldest sister’s visit is a success, as afterward their mother appears to have regained her confidence. She regularly goes to see real milkman, bringing him food and tending to his injuries. She also spends a lot of time looking in the mirror and tending to her appearance.

Because Milkman is dead, middle sister finally feels as though she can start running again. Rather than call third brother-in-law, who she feels will be difficult to talk to on the phone, middle sister simply walks over to his house at the time he usually begins his runs. There, she finds him stretching outside. Without saying a word, she walks up next to him and begins stretching herself.

Third brother-in-law tells middle sister that he thought she had given up running permanently. Middle sister assures him that she only stopped running because she was recovering from being poisoned. Now, she is ready to get back to her old routine. As they have this conversation, third sister and her friends come outside to make fun of middle sister and third brother-in-law for stretching and preparing for a long run. As usual, middle sister and third brother-in-law ignore them. Middle sister and third brother-in-law also have a playful argument over how long they will run. Third brother-in-law suggests extremely long distances, while middle sister insists on comparably short ones.

Middle sister and third brother-in-law’s conversation does momentarily turn serious, as they discuss what happened with Somebody McSomebody. Middle sister is still sporting a black eye from the encounter, which is immediately noticeable to third brother-in-law. Middle sister appreciates his concern but assures him that she is fine. Then, the two of them begin their run. As usual, they run through the parks and reservoirs area, the same place middle sister had her second encounter with Milkman. However, rather than feeling stressed, as she has since meeting Milkman, middle sister almost laughs with joy, as she once again feels free to move through the area.