Play It As It Lays Chapter 82 Summary & Analysis

In an internal monologue, Maria reveals that, while “Carter and Helene still ask questions,” she stopped asking herself questions once she realized that “the answer is ‘nothing’” Knowing this, her only plans for the future are to rescue Kate and “do some canning.” In fact, Maria thinks, there might be some money to be made in canning. This latter observation leads Maria to realize that, after all this time, she’s still her parents’ daughter. She thinks that maybe her parents and Benny “knew the answer too, and pretended they didn’t.” Maria decides that “you call it as you see it, and stay in the action,” though “BZ thought otherwise.”

Maria’s monologue takes place during her hospitalization. Her realization that “the answer is ‘nothing’” evokes BZ’s answer to Helene in the previous chapter. With this in mind, Maria seems to insinuate that it was BZ’s death that inspired her to stop asking questions. Maria’s proposed plans for the future are simple and straightforward. They embody the lessons her father taught her and hearken back to the simpler way of life she experienced growing up in Silver Wells. Maria’s commitment to these plans reflects her inner desire to regain all that she lost when she exchanged her simple, straightforward life in Silver Wells for a superficial life in Hollywood. Maria speculates that her parents “knew the answer too, and pretended they didn’t,” proposing that while her parents might have been privy to life’s meaninglessness, they chose to “stay in the action” and play the hand life dealt them, regardless. Maria and her parents’ stance differs from BZ’s, though. When Marie specifies that “BZ thought otherwise,” she refers to his decision to end his life and exit the game.

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Play It As It Lays: Chapter 82 Summary & Analysis