Something Borrowed

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2005

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-7

Chapters 8-14

Chapters 15-19

Chapters 20-26

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Themes

Gaining Self-Confidence

One of the main themes of the book is Rachel’s journey to find her self-confidence. Rachel begins the book as a passive character, content to live her life in Darcy’s shadow. She believes Darcy is better than her in all aspects of life and “always gets what she wants” (24). Darcy “wins” because she expects to, whereas Rachel doesn’t “even try” (247). As Rachel begins her affair with Dex, she starts to realize how disengaged she is from her own life story. She assesses her past relationships and determines that the only common theme is her passivity. Ethan tells Rachel that Darcy has always been “riding roughshod” (96) over her, and Rachel starts to see that truth. She wakes up to the fact that Darcy deliberately kept Rachel in her shadow and manipulated situations to appear more successful.

As Rachel’s growing relationship with Dex forces her to take risks and operate out of her comfort zone, it pushes her to reexamine herself and change her ways. She begins to view herself as attractive, deciding that she has “a softness that [Darcy] lacks” (119). She stops constantly comparing herself to Darcy, and reevaluates Darcy’s character as judgmental and “selfish, plain and simple” (145). By knocking Darcy off her pedestal, Rachel appreciates herself more. She stops feeling guilty over her lack of remorse for betraying her best friend, and finally accepts that her friendship with Darcy has always been flawed. Rachel gains the strength and confidence to give Dex an ultimatum, which she was hesitant to do for much of their affair. She realizes that waiting for Dex to leave Darcy was yet another example of her passivity.

In the end, Rachel’s character looks very different than it did at the start of the book. She is much more aware of her value, and more assertive about what she wants. She recognizes that she used to make “safe, careful choices” (321) and hoped everything “would fall into place” (321). She hid behind Darcy and resigned herself to a miserable, lonely fate. Her negative attitude towards turning 30 at the start of the book was indicative of her mindset through much of her life. In the opening chapters, Rachel is “uneasy” (3), wracked with anxiety about what the future holds. Conversely, in the closing chapters, she marvels at the extent to which she’s changed “in such a short time” (321). She now knows she must make her “own happiness” (321) and is willing to get what she wants regardless of the losses or sacrifices.

Betrayal Without Remorse

The theme of betrayal pervades the book, and it is consistently committed without any remorse. Several of the main characters betray one another in some capacity, including Rachel, Dex, Darcy, and Marcus. Rachel’s betrayal is at the center of the book, and while her character is the most tormented about it, she quickly observes that she does “not seem to feel guilty” (15). She subsequently considers whether she is “a bad person” (18) without ever coming to a definitive conclusion. When Rachel later kisses Marcus, she dismisses her “betrayal” (202) of Dex as simply putting them “on equal footing” because “He is engaged” (202). Rachel thus paves the way for a guiltless attitude towards betraying close friends and partners. Similarly, Dex feels little guilt about cheating on his fiancé and immediately apologizes to Rachel—rather than Darcy—for putting her in such a precarious situation. “I just don’t feel guilty,” he tells Rachel after their first night together, asking if that makes him “awful” (37). Rachel responds that she has “no room to judge” (37).

Since Rachel and Dex’s relationship is based on an act of betrayal, they experience their blossoming romance at Darcy’s expense. Their intimate liaisons are predicated on sneaking around behind Darcy’s back. Rachel even worries that maybe the affair is just another way to compete with Darcy—that she simply wants to be with Dex “to beat Darcy” (303)—although she quickly talks herself out of that idea. Her concerns and anxieties about the relationship reflects that it is based on infidelity without guilt. Rachel is forced to reevaluate her friendship with Darcy, because the fact remains that being with Dex is potentially as much about her feelings towards Darcy as it is about her love for Dex. She comes to see that she has major problems with Darcy, and ultimately accepts without argument that their “friendship is likely over forever, and maybe that is for the best” (321).

The triumph of Dex and Rachel’s relationship suggests that their betrayal was justified, as was their lack of remorse. Such a conclusion becomes even more concrete when Rachel and Dex find out Darcy cheated on Dex with Marcus and is pregnant with Marcus’s baby. Rachel silently accuses Darcy of being “doubly disloyal” (303)—to both herself and Dex. Darcy’s betrayal is similarly committed without guilt, and Marcus never calls to apologize to Dex. In the end, nearly everyone is betrayed in some capacity without any sense of regret. As the adulterous relationships succeed, the infidelity becomes difficult to condemn. Remorse is rendered unnecessary, and the characters are justified in absolving themselves of guilt or blame.

The Triumph of Romantic Love

Romantic love is triumphant over other types of relationships, particularly platonic, same-sex friendships. Rachel’s relationship with Darcy is characterized by jealousy, competitiveness, and resentment, while she proclaims of Dex that she loves him “wholly and unconditionally and without reservation” (317). She adds that she loves him “enough to sacrifice a friendship” (317). The answer to whether Rachel can live with herself “if I get what I want at her expense” (222) is unmistakably affirmative. While her relationship with Darcy brings her down, her relationship with Dex lifts her up and helps her find her self-worth.

Other relationships in the book support the view that romantic love is superior to all other types of love. While Hillary and Rachel have a solid friendship, Hillary gravitates towards her new love interest, Julian. She tells Rachel she didn’t “believe in the whole soul-mate thing until I met him” (190). Darcy betrays Rachel and Dex and invests in Marcus. While Rachel says of Darcy that, in high school, she “always put her friends first” (23), the situation has changed by adulthood. Darcy picks Marcus over Dex and Rachel and chooses not to talk to them again for betraying her, although she betrayed them as well. There are exceptions to the theme of triumphant romantic love, like Rachel’s friendship with Ethan. Their friendship is both platonic and beneficial—as Rachel is often aided by Ethan’s support. However, it relies to some extent on Ethan preferring Rachel over Darcy and supporting Rachel’s betrayal of her.

The ultimate message is that romantic love should and does prevail at all costs and is worth sacrificing other relationships, especially if they are unsatisfying. Rachel ultimately dismisses her friendship with Darcy as unsalvageable. She considers the fact that her friendship with Darcy is most likely done to be “for the best” (321). Rachel also doesn’t mind cutting ties with Claire, deeming her a “worthwhile casualty of my split with Darcy” (309). Only with Dex does Rachel experience “true happiness. Even joy” (317). She questions whether she could have ever “found contentment” (317) without him. For Rachel, as well as several of the other characters, including Dex and Darcy, platonic relationships—especially same-sex friendships—appear mostly as an obstacle to finding true love, fulfillment, and desire.