66 pages • 2 hours read
Janet FitchWhite Oleander
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1999A 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 10-14Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 10 Summary
Astrid is taken to Van Nuys to an ugly turquoise house with a plain chain link fence. Marvel Turlock opens the door with a toddler and a small boy in tow. She comments on Astrid’s cane, calling her lame. Astrid finishes ninth grade at the local junior high. Astrid is expected to babysit, clean, and wash and dye Marvel’s hair. Astrid dislikes the work but appreciates being part of a fairly normal home. She receives a letter from Ingrid, reminding her that her new home is good enough and that she should “never hope to find people who will understand her” (127) but rather accept being lonely and learn to understand herself. Astrid begins to consider suicide, but thoughts of her mother prevent her from acting. Instead, she decides to play a game where she sees how many times she can stab the space between her fingers without hitting them.
Astrid finds a book called The Art of Survival. She compares herself to a sailor lost at sea, knowing she must prepare for every possibility, hold out hope, and remain calm: “I had to prepare, hold hope between my palms like the flame of the last match in a long Arctic night” (130). She feels like Ingrid would be calm and prepared at first but that her judgment would one day suddenly be clouded, and she would drink seawater, much like what happened with Barry. One afternoon, Astrid catches a glimpse of a woman who lives next door. Marvel comments on how the woman is a “whore” who gets her money through prostitution and how upset she is that people of other races are moving into the neighborhood. Astrid is disgusted and says nothing. That night, Astrid hears the woman singing and steals some of her jacarandas. The next day, Astrid sees the woman (Olivia) in her yard. She desperately wants Olivia to know she is not racist like Marvel and calls out a compliment about her yard. Olivia smiles briefly but warns Astrid not to speak to her for fear of repercussions from Marvel.
Chapter 11 Summary
Astrid starts watching Olivia, noticing a series of men coming in and out of her house. She disagrees with the strict labels that describe women like Olivia, noting how people are “so mutable, fluid with fear and desire, ideals and angles, changeable as water” (138). Astrid steals a comb out of Olivia’s garbage and begins using it, trying to emulate her. Olivia goes away for a while, and Astrid intercepts one of her packages, using it as a way to talk to Olivia again. When Olivia invites Astrid in for tea, Astrid is astounded by how elegant Olivia’s home is. The two chat casually, and Astrid realizes that Olivia is nothing like the stereotypical prostitutes she knows about. Astrid tells Olivia about her experiences since she and her mother met Barry, and Olivia warns her that “it’s a man’s world” (142) but notes that Astrid can use this to her advantage due to her good looks. She tells Astrid never to fall too hard for any man, always holding herself above attachment. She hugs Astrid, inviting her back any time.
Chapter 12 Summary
Olivia inspires Astrid to think of her future and go beyond survival mode. She had never considered the possibility of a luxurious life and now imagines herself with three different, rich lovers who provide for her: a Swedish man who travels with her, a Mexican man who provides the romance, and Ray. One afternoon, Marvel’s friends come over and give Astrid a makeover. She is excited to see what kind of woman she will become, but when she looks in the mirror, she sees “a thirty-year-old hostess at Denny’s […] in for varicose veins and a single apartment” (152). She sees no lovers, luxury, or happiness in her future—only loneliness.
Ingrid’s next letter talks about her recent publication of poetry in the prison magazine but never mentions Astrid. Astrid feels as if her mother once again sees her as an accessory. She compares Olivia to her mother, noting that “the world parts for Olivia, it lies down at her feet, where [her mother] hacks through it like a thorn forest” (154). When Astrid writes to her mother about Olivia, Ingrid writes back, warning Astrid to distance herself from this woman. She feels that Olivia is an example of a woman who submits herself to the patriarchy.
One day, Astrid is babysitting Justin and Caitlin at the park when she sees a group of boys smoking a joint. Astrid flirts with the boys, and one offers to give her a half-bag of pot for oral sex. Astrid performs the act while one of the other boys watches Caitlin. She realizes that sex can be loveless and feels a sense of confused pride afterward. Olivia tells her that she did not intend for Astrid to become a prostitute. Afterward, Olivia takes Astrid shopping on Rodeo Drive and buys her a cashmere sweater. Over the coming weeks, Astrid starts to break out of survival mode, gaining weight and a womanly shape.
Chapter 13 Summary
Astrid spends more time with Olivia over the summer, listening to the stories of her travels and drinking with her. Olivia remarks on how glad she is to have met Astrid at this point in her life: “Now you’re so open. You could go any number of ways” (167). When Olivia disappears in the fall, Astrid feels lost and hurt: “Didn’t she know how entirely I depended on her? I felt hope slipping out from between my fingers like fish juice” (171). On the night of her 15th birthday, Astrid wanders out for a walk. She is attacked by three stray dogs and taken to the hospital, where Ed refuses to accompany her inside. Astrid’s cashmere sweater is cut off to treat her wounds, and she cries as the idea of her luxurious life fall to pieces in her lap.
Chapter 14 Summary
Astrid wears her stitches with pride. She tells herself she will stay away from Olivia to avoid inevitable disappointment. When Christmas comes, the family does not introduce Astrid to any of their relatives, and she is left out of conversations and pictures. She wishes for Ingrid, feeling like she cannot possibly brave the world without her. Astrid eventually gets up the courage to approach Olivia after realizing that having material possessions does not count for much. Olivia gives Astrid a bottle of perfume from her trip, which makes Astrid feel like “a fairy-tale girl from the Victorian age” (182) and smells of woods and flowers. Astrid appreciates the glimpse of a different self that the perfume offers and thanks Olivia sincerely.
Astrid awakes hung over, and when she wanders home, Marvel catches her. Realizing that Astrid was drinking and spent the night with Olivia, Marvel becomes enraged, dragging Astrid by her hair and hitting her. The perfume bottle smashes as Astrid can only watch. When the police arrive later, Marvel makes it seem like Astrid’s hungover state is Olivia’s fault. Nobody mentions the beating. Olivia does not speak to Astrid again.
Chapters 10-14 Analysis
After being shot by Starr, Astrid is taken to live with Marvel and Ed Turlock. Marvel and Ed have two young children already and provide Astrid with a semblance of a normal life. Astrid does not feel a connection with their family and still longs to be with her mother again. She bonds with and relies on Olivia, but when Olivia is not around, Astrid feels desperately lonely. She starts harming herself by playing a stabbing game with her fingers, contemplating her Capacity for Human Suffering. Astrid sees in herself a desperate girl who will cling to anyone who gives her attention and hates this about herself. Astrid’s time with Marvel parallels her time with Starr, as both see Astrid caring for younger siblings she will likely never see again, and both end with her being attacked by the woman who is supposed to mother and care for her. While Starr shoots Astrid for being involved with Ray, Marvel beats Astrid and drags her across the yard for spending time with Olivia. When she finds Astrid hungover after drinking all night with Olivia, she flies into a rage. Marvel is both racist against Olivia because she is Black and also prejudiced against her for her profession.
When Astrid meets Olivia, she experiences what it is like to feel hopeful and optimistic about her future. Astrid is discovering What It Means to Be a Woman, and Olivia is a type of woman she has never interacted with before. The more time Astrid spends with Olivia, the more she starts to feel like a woman and less like a girl: “I liked the way my body moved as I walked down the street. Marvel thought it was just my age, filling out, she called it. But that wasn’t it. I had been moving too fast. I had been too hungry to become a woman” (164). Olivia earns money from having relationships with men and uses that money to live a lavish and freeing lifestyle. She pushes the boundaries of womanhood and maximizes its benefits.
Astrid admires this at first, predicting her future with three lovers and surrounded by luxury. Ingrid believes that Olivia is a tool of the patriarchy and warns Astrid against her: “A woman like that is a parasite, she fattens on injustice like a tick on a hog. Of course, to the tick, it’s a hog’s world” (155), but Ingrid’s hold over Astrid grows weaker every day, and Astrid does not take her advice seriously anymore. She sees a strong juxtaposition between her mother and Olivia, noting how her mother seems to push against the world, seeking pain and struggle, while Olivia moves with it, taking advantage of what others want from her. Furthermore, Ingrid believes that women must uphold their independence and not succumb to men's charms (although her actions often do not reflect this), while Olivia strives to use those men to serve herself. Astrid’s illusion of Olivia begins to shatter when she attempts her first trick and feels wretched afterward. It further breaks down when Olivia disappears without a word, showing Astrid how little their relationship means.
