58 pages • 1 hour read
Fredrik Backman, Transl. Henning KochBritt-Marie Was Here
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 5-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 5 Summary
While unconscious, Britt-Marie has a flashback: She doesn’t like pizza because Kent always smelled like pizza and perfume after his “meetings with Germany” (30). Britt-Marie left Kent after visiting him in the hospital after his heart attack.
In the present, Britt-Marie wakes in Borg’s pizzeria. The proprietress—also the health center and general store staff, local mechanic, and postmistress—called Somebody offers a first aid kit. Britt-Marie notices that Somebody both uses a wheelchair and is intoxicated. A teenage girl, Vega, who works at the shop, and Somebody help Britt-Marie up. Vega is part of the soccer team that accidentally hit Britt-Marie. Much to Vega’s shock, Britt-Marie reveals that she is the new recreation center caretaker; as Somebody fetches the building keys, Britt-Marie realizes that many locals dislike her, as a city person. Britt-Marie requests Faxin, but the shop doesn’t carry any because it has been discontinued. Britt-Marie is devastated.
Chapter 6 Summary
As Britt-Marie heads to the recreation center, she observes the local soccer team for the first time. They are incredibly bad—if they hit something, it’s because they were aiming for something else. A soccer ball flies toward Britt-Marie; to Vega’s incredulity, Britt-Marie dodges it rather than sending it back. Somebody explains the cause of Borg’s decline: It was once a trucking town, but after the financial crisis, the jobs disappeared and many residents moved to the neighboring town 12 miles away. As a result of their financial straits, the soccer pitch was torn down; the team practices in the pizzeria parking lot now. Britt-Marie tells Somebody about the rat but doesn’t receive much sympathy. Somebody does, however, offer her services as a mechanic.
Britt-Marie retrieves the recreation center keys and takes her leave. She cleans the recreation center, substituting baking soda for Faxin, and tries to ignore both the rat and the children playing soccer outside. Soccer memorabilia decorates the recreation center. The kitchen has a coffee percolator, but Britt-Marie struggles with it. Frustrated, she destroys it with a mop, then cries into a towel.
Chapter 7 Summary
When Britt-Marie was still with Kent, she disliked traveling. She always cleaned their hotel room herself, afraid that hotel staff would think her a “slob.” Britt-Marie was very self-conscious and tried to make Kent look good; he never did the same for her, and in fact, his dreams eclipsed hers.
In Borg, Britt-Marie doesn’t have lodging, so she stays in the recreation center. She gets up at six o’clock in the morning and cleans again. Somebody offers wine acquired through less-than-legal means; Britt-Marie is oblivious to the subtleties of Somebody’s phrasing. She is dismayed at the delay of her car repairs and unintentionally reveals that her sister died when they were children. Somebody notices the damaged coffee percolator with amusement and offers to help bring in the large package in Britt-Marie’s car. Britt-Marie declines; inside is a set of IKEA furniture that Kent has disparagingly declared impossible for women to assemble. Britt-Marie therefore resolves to “assemble it herself” (54). It temporarily remains stuck in her car.
Chapter 8 Summary
When Britt-Marie was a child, her family’s car collided with a truck. Britt-Marie’s sister, Ingrid, died. After the funeral, her father gradually abandoned them, and her mother developed depression. Britt-Marie believes her parents would have preferred Ingrid to survive instead of her; despite her diligent housework, she was ignored. Soon afterward, she discovered Faxin in a newspaper ad.
In the present, a pest control woman arrives in Borg to get rid of the recreation center rat. However, Britt-Marie dislikes the uncertainty of rat poison. She sends the woman away and calls the case worker to complain.
At the pizzeria/health center/post office/general store, Britt-Marie sees a framed soccer jersey decorated with BANK 10, which once belonged to Borg’s star soccer player, and a photo of Borg’s previous soccer coach, Bank’s recently deceased father. Also in the store is a grumpy woman with sunglasses, a dog, and a cane. Britt-Marie inquires about her car, as well as baking soda. The car is not ready yet. Vega and her younger brother Omar—who both work at the shop—bring out both baking soda and Faxin. Britt-Marie is initially overjoyed but quickly offended when they offer her the items on credit, a common occurrence in Borg. Britt-Marie refuses; Somebody demands car repair payments in cash to chastise her. Apologetically, Britt-Marie spontaneously buys a Snickers bar.
Back at the recreation center, Britt-Marie bargains with the rat. She will feed it and ensure proper care of its body if/when it dies. In return, she wants it to do the same for her. The rat eats the Snickers while Britt-Marie ponders whether baking soda is the human soul, because both disappear postmortem.
Chapter 9 Summary
Ingrid was the positive sibling with dreams. Britt-Marie was the background, domestic sibling, but that was okay because Ingrid “truly [saw] her” (74). Kent and his brother Alf were neighbors in their apartment complex. The brothers fought constantly.
In Borg, Britt-Marie watches Vega, Omar, and the rest of the kids play soccer. Vega is the best of them, though no one is particularly skilled. As darkness falls, Britt-Marie misses her balcony, as well as Ingrid’s dream of taking them both to Paris. The children appear, asking to watch the soccer match at the recreation center—the adults get drunk watching the match at the pizzeria, and no one’s home is big enough to host everyone. Britt-Marie reluctantly acquiesces after a frantic but unhelpful call to the case worker. She also encounters the local police officer, Sven.
Chapter 10 Summary
Britt-Marie is confused by soccer fan culture. She doesn’t understand their superstitions: putting the TV remote on the floor, wearing their clothes backward, and bringing their soccer ball indoors. Nor does she understand their creative nicknaming system. She does laundry to maintain her own sense of normalcy. One of the children, Pirate, apologizes for kicking the soccer ball that had knocked her out before. As the game continues, Vega dismisses Britt-Marie’s suggestion to join the girls’ soccer team in town. Pirate is sent to fetch a soccer ball forgotten in the rain. Britt-Marie follows him, attempting to stop him from dirtying his jersey.
While outside, Pirate compliments Britt-Marie’s hair and asks her to style his hair before his upcoming date. Their conversation is interrupted as their favored team scores, and the other children lock Pirate and Britt-Marie outside—a new superstition for good luck. Britt-Marie is incredulous but secretly touched that her location matters.
Chapter 11 Summary
After Ingrid died, Britt-Marie hated the silence. Her father stopped coming home. Her mother stayed in bed until she died. Britt-Marie cleaned and maintained order but remained ignored. Kent, who had moved away, returned as a divorcé with two children. They got along back then.
In Borg, Britt-Marie and Pirate are eventually allowed back inside. However, Britt-Marie gets trapped in the bathroom (superstition again). The children let her out when the game ends, informing her that their team won. Sven returns, giving Britt-Marie an address for lodging. He offers a lift in his police car; Britt-Marie refuses because she fears being perceived as a criminal. Sven leaves and Britt-Marie sends the children home. Sven returns, again offering a ride and a gift of a bamboo screen. Britt-Marie acquiesces.
Chapter 12 Summary
Sven helps move Britt-Marie’s things to his car, except for the IKEA box, which remains in her car. Sven drives her to the neighboring town to get rent money from the nearest ATM. Britt-Marie quashes conversation by mentioning Kent. Sven mentions that the soccer children like her and explains Borg’s love of soccer.
Britt-Marie’s lodgings are a spare room in Bank’s house. Bank is the woman with the sunglasses, cane, and dog that Britt-Marie encountered at the pizzeria. Bank gives her a tour, oblivious to the soccer regalia celebrating her in the house. Bank grumpily explains that she is not completely blind, but has low vision: “I can see where the dog is. The dog sees the rest” (102). The sunglasses protect her light-sensitive eyes, the cane is for her injured knee, and the dog is her pet. Britt-Marie moves into the room and cleans. To her surprise and amazement, the room has a balcony.
Chapters 5-12 Analysis
Social Class as Othering takes a central focus in this section as Britt-Marie confronts her ignorance of, and assumptions about, class differences. Given Britt-Marie’s isolated married life and the money Kent is supposedly making, she is not used to the varying layers of social class. She balks at admitting to any loss of privilege and economic advantage, disparaging receipt of government benefits at the unemployment office, and more awkwardly, dismissing the idea of paying for goods with credit rather than cash. This separates her from the citizens of Borg, who pay with credit out of financial necessity. It also identifies her as “city folk,” whom Borg residents hold in contempt. Britt-Marie reveals a similar prejudice when she purposely, loudly declares that she doesn’t carry large amounts of cash with her, further alienating her from the locals by implying they are thieves. Somebody’s chastisement of Britt-Marie’s insults—demanding cash for a very expensive car payment—solidifies that Britt-Marie is not much different from them. She is arguably worse off because her job depends on the town’s goodwill of hiring her; she also has nowhere to stay but the recreation center—the locals have their own homes. Therefore, Britt-Marie’s next major change occurs as she transitions from an economically privileged life to an underprivileged one.
This shift in social class also necessitates a change in perspective, which is symbolized by the reappearance of Faxin. The initial lack of it in the grocery store during Britt-Marie’s job search, as well as Somebody’s announcement of its discontinuation, signal that Britt-Marie’s previous worldview is permanently gone. As Britt-Marie begins to adjust to life in Borg, Faxin reappears as a gift from Omar, indicating a shift in her own perspective in turn. This will be discussed further later.
Britt-Marie’s trauma is further revealed through her recounting Ingrid’s death. This admission explains both Britt-Marie’s fear of death and her fear of being alone and ignored, given her parents’ neglect and abandonment of her after Ingrid’s death. Her anxiety about this makes Kent’s infidelity worse, as his past proximity to her implies his awareness of her struggles; his rejection of her mirrors the decline of her parents’ marriage, compounding her distress. These parallels also demonstrate The Cycle of Trauma, Coping, Hope, and Resilience. Britt-Marie copes by cleaning, hoping that by doing so, she can miraculously hold her family together; Kent and her father distance themselves from unwanted reminders, eventually disappearing; and Britt-Marie’s mother simply gives up. However, no one directly addresses the trauma itself, so it continues shaping their lives; hence, Kent and Britt-Marie continue what her parents began.
Ingrid’s death adds greater depth to Britt-Marie’s dependence on baking soda. Like Britt-Marie’s self-perception, baking soda is common, unobtrusive and often overlooked; however, it is versatile. Most significantly to Britt-Marie, sodium bicarbonate vanishes from the body postmortem, thereby—she believes—causing the smell of decay. She therefore considers baking soda to be the human soul. This belief adds deeper layers to her dependence on it—by using it as a cleaning panacea, she shields herself from impurities and danger, but it also maintains her connection to Ingrid. Although Ingrid is gone, through the constant presence of baking soda around Britt-Marie, some part of her perhaps remains as a comfort, as she was the only person in Britt-Marie’s life to see and love her for who she is.
The theme of Self-Actualization and Independence is primarily depicted through objects in this section. While Britt-Marie is capable of cleaning and other housework, Kent disparaged her ability to do more “masculine” tasks like assembling furniture. Therefore, her determination to prove him wrong by assembling her own furniture is a way to spite him and to prove herself. Her rejection of Sven’s assistance with it demonstrates her continued progress toward independence. More spontaneous is her destruction of the coffee percolator at the recreation center. As Kent was the coffee-maker before, her rage and destruction of the machine represent her admission of her misery and anger toward their marriage and how he treated her. The fact that she leaves the mess uncleaned is also significant—rather than hiding her trauma and repressing her feelings, she is finally opening up, at least to herself.
Similarly, Britt-Marie is also forced to recognize the symbolism of soccer, which is ever-present in Borg. The youth team’s continued practices in the parking lot despite the loss of their pitch signify their passion and determination to succeed despite the dual obstacles of the village’s lack of finances and their own negligible skills. Just as hope is infectious, Britt-Marie is pulled into soccer through repeated inevitable interactions with it—her blow to the head, the dent in her car, and the soccer game at the recreation center, in which she simultaneously learns about soccer superstitions and becomes one. This indirectly also affects her journey of self-actualization, as her location during scores becomes a good luck charm for the children. While nonsensical to Britt-Marie, it is nonetheless positive reinforcement that her presence is not only valued, but necessary.
To emphasize this positive reinforcement, Britt-Marie is reunited with a balcony, providing her with a safe space. Although Bank’s home is alien to her, and Bank is grudging about Britt-Marie’s presence, she respects Britt-Marie’s privacy. While Britt-Marie must still live with someone else’s presence dwarfing hers in the house, the boundaries are clear—she is a guest rather than the owner, so the differing proportions in influence make sense. In addition, her private space has increased to include not just a balcony, but a bedroom. In this way, Britt-Marie slowly begins to carve out her own niche, far away from the domineering presence of her past.
Related Titles
By these authors
