59 pages • 1 hour read
Laurie FrankelFamily Family
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Index Cards
India loves index cards; throughout the story, they become integral to her personality, symbolizing her desire for order and control in her life. Though dreamy and aspirational, India approaches life meticulously, using her index cards to complete high school and meditate on her goal of getting into acting school. She and Robbie gamify the index cards when deciding what to do about the pregnancy, trying to read them like tarot cards. The index cards symbolize a way for India to manage and make sense of the chaos of a life that hasn't gone the way she planned, becoming a tool for her to exert some control over the uncertain aspects of her life.
However, when she realizes that index cards can’t fix all her problems, the index cards also symbolize India’s limitations: When her lack of vocal talent ends her musical dreams, she realizes “[she] could index-card her way out of the hardest tests, the longest essays, the most boring exercises. But there was nothing she could do about high school’s biggest nightmare: the musical” (19). As an aspiring actor, India continues to use her index cards for research, line memorization, and organization, reflecting her determination to master her craft.
The index cards accompany India through significant life decisions and transitions and become a way for her to celebrate her successes. India’s playful use of index cards as “make-shift confetti” adds another layer of depth to their symbolism and quirkiness to her character. The twins declare, “She always has torn-up index cards in her pocket to use as confetti” (95). The tearing of the cards also symbolizes that the best-laid plans can often go awry, and instead of fighting against change, India learns to embrace and celebrate the unexpected.
Theater
“Happy are they that hear their detractions and can put them to mending” (ix). The story opens with an epigraph from Much Ado About Nothing, establishing a theatrical motif throughout the novel. The theater appears in the novel with many references to Shakespeare, Ibsen, and other playwrights. It begins with a production of Guys and Dolls that inspires India to pursue acting. Live theater becomes integral to India’s personality as she studies it in college and makes it her career.
Though she portrays a character, India feels most authentically herself on stage: “This was also how India learned to be India. Learned to stay India” (190). The theater becomes a place where India can process her experiences in life. Performing intense emotional scenes allows her to channel and release her emotions healthily and constructively as she channels her love for Robbie and Rebeca into her characters. By contrast, acting on a soundstage in Hollywood doesn't deliver the same thrill as performing for a live audience, so India finds the process robs her of creativity and authenticity as an actor. Her performances are less cerebral and more just going through the motions to collect a paycheck to support herself and her children. At the end of the novel, India retires from her lucrative television career and returns to working in live theater—a moment that is presented as India returning to a truer sense of self.
Love
Frankel explores various forms of love, transforming it into an important motif in the novel. India and Robbie’s relationship highlights the intensity and volatility of adolescent love, characterized by its earnestness and idealization. India and Davis meet as young adults and fall in love through acting together on stage. Their love is less idealistic and far more complicated than India’s first relationship, which illustrates the challenge of maintaining love while navigating complex adult decisions.
However, the novel's core lies with India’s love for her children. When deciding what to do about the pregnancy, India references the familiar nursery rhyme, “First comes love, then comes marriage,” half-joking that they got things out of order; in response, Robbie emphasizes, “First love” (37). Love precedes it all, and their decision to put the baby up for adoption is rooted in a loving desire for the baby to have the best possible life. Later, when India meets Fig and Jack for the first time, she falls for them instantly but soon learns loving them isn’t enough. The evolving relationship between India and her children underscores the idea that love is not automatic, but instead grows through shared experiences, patience, and understanding.
By the novel's end, the concept of love has matured into acceptance and understanding. Robbie shares the pain of his divorce with India and how he’s experienced the inefficiency of love. The narrative describes what they both have learned, “But love did not preclude strife. It did not erase sorrows. It did not detangle complication” (359). The characters realize love is not about fitting into preconceived molds but embracing each other’s flaws and differences. India’s experiences show that love is a dynamic and evolving force that adapts to life's circumstances and challenges.
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By Laurie Frankel
