Such a Fun Age

by

Kiley Reid

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Such a Fun Age: Chapter 11 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Alix is still eight pounds above her pre-baby weight, she and Peter haven’t had sex in nearly three weeks, and she’s made no progress on her book. None of this matters, though, because Rachel, Jodi, and Tamra are coming to Philadelphia for Thanksgiving. And then Alix will return to New York with them for five days—the Clinton campaign has invited her to attend a women’s event in Manhattan.
Alix’s excitement about her friends coming to visit seems to be less about her actual friends and more about reconnecting with her old life in Manhattan, which gave her fulfillment and social credibility in a way that  her new life in Philadelphia does not.
Themes
External Behavior vs. Internal Truth  Theme Icon
The Quest for Meaning  Theme Icon
Alix has just returned home from running errands for Thanksgiving. It’s snowing heavily outside. As Alix removes her coat in the front vestibule, she sees Emira’s phone light up with a notification about a flight cancellation.
Once again, Alix’s snooping in Emira’s phone is a blatant betrayal of Emira’s trust. In this scene, it makes Alix privy to the bad news that Emira’s (likely) flight home has been cancelled. Based on Alix’s pattern of manipulative behavior, it seems likely that she’ll try to use this knowledge to further her mission to make Emira part of the family.
Themes
External Behavior vs. Internal Truth  Theme Icon
White Guilt, Ignorance, and Redemption Theme Icon
Things have been weird between Alix and Emira ever since the fish incident. Last Friday, Emira turned down Alix’s offer of a glass of wine. Emira’s coldness is driving Alix crazy, and she can’t stop thinking about her. Lately, she’s been feeling more self-conscious about her lifestyle. She’s started to pretend that she’s eating leftovers for dinner when Emira is around—only to go right to the computer to order sushi for takeout the minute Emira leaves.
So much of Alix’s business success has come from projecting a certain image to the world, and she thinks that she can use the same strategy to ingratiate herself with Emira, hiding physical signs of her wealth that (she thinks) Emira must resent. But as she does this, she doesn’t make any real changes to her lifestyle or use her privilege to actually help Emira. 
Themes
External Behavior vs. Internal Truth  Theme Icon
White Guilt, Ignorance, and Redemption Theme Icon
Race, Class, and Privilege  Theme Icon
Quotes
Alix tries to stalk Emira on social media, even though she knows Emira doesn’t have any accounts. She tells herself that she’s doing this for her children’s safety.  Alix looks through her own feed and wonders how Emira would judge it. She knows that Emira sees her as a stereotypical rich white lady, but she also knows that Emira would see that this just isn’t true, if she only gave Alix a chance. For instance, Emira might change her mind about Alix if she knew that one of Alix’s closest friends is Black, or if she knew Alix has read everything by Toni Morrison. But, if everything goes according to plan, Emira will discover these things tomorrow.
Alix thinks that superficial details that signify her anti-racism, such as the fact that she’s read Toni Morrison (a prolific 20th-century Black American writer) or that she has a Black friend, are enough to make Emira like her. But the fact is that these superficial details don’t change the fact that Alix is a stereotypical rich white lady—particularly in the way that she remains ignorant about her privilege and what it takes to be a real ally to Emira.
Themes
External Behavior vs. Internal Truth  Theme Icon
White Guilt, Ignorance, and Redemption Theme Icon
Race, Class, and Privilege  Theme Icon
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Emira stands behind Briar at the window. As they watch the storm, Emira tells Alix how crazy it was for her to brave the winter conditions to run errands. Alix agrees. Then she suggests that Emira check the status of her flight—there’s a possibility it’s been canceled due to weather. Alix wonders if it’s cruel of her to act like she doesn’t know that Emira’s flight has been cancelled, but she’s too excited by the prospect of Emira joining them for Thanksgiving to care; finally, she’ll have a chance to make Emira part of their family—to show her that she hasn’t forgotten about that awful night at Market Depot. Emira checks her phone and sees that her flight’s been cancelled. Alix feigns shock and disappointment. Emira goes upstairs to call her parents, who bought her the ticket. 
Alix knows it’s wrong to pretend not to know about Emira’s cancelled flight. Yet she pushes aside these feelings to advance her quest invite Emira to Thanksgiving and make her part of the family. And so, though Alix continues to tell herself that she wants to make Emira part of the family, her actions, which are cruel and inconsiderate of Emira’s feelings, contradict these intentions.
Themes
External Behavior vs. Internal Truth  Theme Icon
White Guilt, Ignorance, and Redemption Theme Icon
Race, Class, and Privilege  Theme Icon
Emira returns to the kitchen and tells Alix that there aren’t any flights until after Thanksgiving. Alix tells Emira that she’s more than welcome to join the Chamberlains for Thanksgiving. Emira tries to decline, explaining that she can spend Thanksgiving with her boyfriend, since his flight was also cancelled. But Alix insists that he can join, too. Alix tells Emira to come at 4:00 on Thursday—and that she’ll be there as a guest, not the sitter. Emira is reluctant, but Briar’s pleading wins her over. She texts Kelley to see what he thinks. He responds almost instantly to tell Emira that he’d love to join her.   
This scene foreshadows what is sure to be an uncomfortable and unexpected Thanksgiving for all involved. When Kelley shows up as Emira’s date, he and Alix will reunite for the first time since high school. And the fact that Emira is dating somebody who, according to Alix, ruined Alix’s life, will throw a major wrench in Alix’s efforts to befriend Emira. At the same time, Kelley and Alix have both shown that they think they know what’s best for Emira (Kelley tries to make her publish the Market Depot video, Alix tries to make her sue Market Depot), so, given that they are sworn enemies, it seems possible that they’ll also try to get Emira to remove the other from her life.
Themes
White Guilt, Ignorance, and Redemption Theme Icon
Race, Class, and Privilege  Theme Icon
Alix is overjoyed. Emira turns to Catherine and asks if it’s okay if she joins them for Thanksgiving. Catherine smiles and says, “Hi,” which shocks Emira and Alix. Alix starts to cry. Then she tells Emira to go home early today. Emira protests, but Alix insists. Inwardly, Alix fears that if Emira stays any longer, Alix will say something stupid, like “I love you.” So instead, Alix sends Emira home with a bag of frozen tortellini, some canned soups, a package of animal cookies, and a bottle of wine for the road—it’s better than anything Emira will find at the scant grocery stores now, Alix explains. Emira thanks her and awkwardly tells Alix that she’ll see her on Thanksgiving.
That Alix is so overjoyed at (what appears to be) Catherine’s first word—all the while she hates the sound of Briar’s constant chatter—reinforces that Catherine is her favorite. Briar doesn’t much seem to recognize this, but she’s now three years old, so it’ll only become more apparent from here on out, unless Alix changes her behavior. Finally, Alix’s gesture of sending Emira home with groceries is nice, but it also kind of seems like she’s just dumping superfluous things from her pantry onto her in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday, which will likely demand considerable food storage space. So, again, Alix does the right thing—but for the wrong reasons. 
Themes
External Behavior vs. Internal Truth  Theme Icon
White Guilt, Ignorance, and Redemption Theme Icon
The Quest for Meaning  Theme Icon
Race, Class, and Privilege  Theme Icon