Tom Lake: Chapter 9 Summary & Analysis

In the story, Lara watches Albert perform as the Stage Manager and can’t say anything bad about his performance, despite his alcohol problem. Some of the people close to him say that Albert’s alcoholism seems to have worsened this year, but in his 14 years of playing the Stage Manager at Tom Lake, he has never missed a performance. The actors hope and assume that his track record will continue. After rehearsal, Duke complains about Albert, whom he seems to particularly dislike.

Rehearsals continue, and the chemistry between Lara and Duke grows more intense—something that’s made occasionally awkward by the fact that he plays her father onstage. Nelson offers them calm but firm notes, asking them to tone down their bedroom eyes. Even though Nelson’s gentle manner is considered unusual for a director, he proves to be incredibly effective, and the actors all learn and grow in their roles. The actors regularly swim in the lake, where Lara and Pallace both wear tiny bikinis. One day, a man (Sebastian) comes to the lake and calls out to Duke.

Back in the present, Emily asks if this man is “Saint Sebastian,” Duke’s brother. Lara nods. Maisie and Nell are disturbed by how much Emily knows about Duke’s life from her Duke-obsessed phase in high school. Together, Emily and Lara explain what Sebastian was doing at the time. No longer trying to go pro at tennis, Sebastian was coaching wealthy families and high schoolers while he taught history. Nell asks if Sebastian and Duke had other siblings, and Emily tells her that they had a little sister who died of illness when she was four. Lara is struck by the fact that she never knew this about Duke.

In the story, Lara and Pallace get out of the lake and dry off as Duke introduces them to Sebastian. He playfully introduces Lara as “Emily.” After rehearsal that day, Lara slips into Cabaret rehearsals to watch Pallace perform. She’s struck by the athleticism and sensuality of her dancing. Pallace greets Lara happily once the rehearsal is over. Pallace tells her that she’s interested in Sebastian, since he isn’t an actor, he isn’t a dancer, he isn’t involved in theater at all, and he’s handsome.

Back in the present, Nell agrees that dating actors is more trouble than it’s worth. She declares that she would have sooner dated Sebastian than Duke. Emily is skeptical, but Lara agrees with Nell, pointing out that Sebastian was such a good tennis player that he played John McEnroe once as a teen. He lost badly, but he was proud to have made it to the game at all. Nell expresses pity for Sebastian, and when Lara asks her why, she tells her mother that even if Sebastian acted happy about the game later, he must have thought of himself as someone who had a real shot of going pro as a teenager. Lara realizes that she failed to understand this part of Sebastian’s past.