Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Reckoning, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Guilt and Legacy
Morality, Survival, and Perspective
Sexuality and Shame
Body Image and Publicity
Indifference vs. Feeling
Summary
Analysis
In 1988, Magda, Marg, and Jane are offered roles on a new show, Fast Forward. Although Magda fears being in the nation’s spotlight when nobody knows who she is, she accepts the position with the others. After the airing on Magda’s 28th birthday, the show achieves slow but steady success. Magda, Marg, Jane, and Gina (who joined in the second year) have comedic chemistry, but each lacks the confidence to work on their talent. In terms of writing sketches, Magda fears the blank page and the writing room full of male writers; determined to prove herself, however, she buys a laptop and braves the writers’ room.
During the 1970s, acting is a male-dominated world. Magda, Jane Turner, and Gina represent an effort to bring a female perspective to this world. The three women’s lack of confidence partly stems from their being out of place among the male writers.
Themes
In the writers’ room, the impermanence of comedy writing liberates Magda: one’s sketches, regardless of their success or failure, will be gone a week later after the episode airs. Magda creates many characters, including Pixie-Anne Wheatley, an incompetent news reporter whose father’s lead position on the channel gets her the job; Pixie-Anne comes to life in the make-up room, where Magda tries on various fake noses and sports heavy makeup.
In her writing, Magda learns to take things less seriously. Although she does not go into depth about Pixie-Anne Wheatley, as an incompetent reporter, the character could suggest that Magda is exploring a more playful approach to current events than she did in the past. Acting allows Magda to approach her beliefs from new, beneficial perspectives.
Themes
On a flight to Sydney, Magda realizes that she is famous after several travelers ask her for her autograph. As her face starts to appear in the media, Magda starts to fear that the wrong “her” has become famous. Magda has loved flying ever since she moved to Australia. But since the bombing, she fears falling every time she flies. Magda uses her characters to cope with her fears; the ditzy laugh of Pixie-Anne makes Magda feel brave and happy, but she wishes she could translate this feeling into her real life.
Acting has not completely healed Magda’s divided sense of self. Magda’s characters will only ever be characters; she cannot possess those characters’ attributes, even though she created them. What is more, Magda still feels that there is something “wrong” about her. It is as though a copy of her has become famous while the real her has stayed where she has always been.
Themes
