Summary
Chapter 12
Margaret manages the front of house at the arts center for a piano performance. The rush of feelings that the performance gives her also opens the possibility of being more public about her relationship with Ivan, perhaps introducing him to her friend Anna. She and Anna go to a local bar after for drinks. They have known each other their whole lives, and Margaret considers how there are only a few years left until they will enter middle age together. They discuss their mothers and the issues in their respective family dynamics. Margaret's mother has made it clear that she is disappointed in Margaret and prefers her siblings. Anna's mother cannot handle hearing any distressing news, so the family carefully crafts lies and omits the truth to keep Anna's mother happy.
While fetching more drinks for herself and Anna, Margaret runs into Ollie Lyons, the captain of the town chess club. He mentions that he saw Ivan at the bus station, and that he would love to have Ivan back in town for a chess workshop. He knowingly eyes Margaret while saying that Ivan, in particular, left an impression on the children from the chess club. The interaction leaves Margaret feeling sick at the thought of being such a scandal in the eyes of people in town. Despite having grabbed more drinks for herself and Anna, Margaret tells her friend that she needs to go home immediately.
Back at home, Margaret calls Ivan to relay what happened and seek comfort. Ivan assures her that everything is fine between them. He also informs her that Alexei is now temporarily residing with him in Dublin. He arranges to pick up his father's car from the property in Kildare, collect Alexei, and drive to Margaret's house for their usual weekend visit. After they hang up, Margaret feels caught between the expectations of her community and her love for Ivan. Their relationship caught her off guard; it was entirely unplanned. But she cannot shake loose the grip that other people's esteem of her character holds over her.
Chapter 13
Peter texts Naomi that he won't be home for dinner because he is taking care of Sylvia, who is ill. As he lies down next to Sylvia, he feels poisoned by his sense of shame and confusion at having the two women in his life. He leaves Sylvia a note to call him if she needs him, and heads out to a pub to drink with his friends. He imagines the opposing pieces of advice that his friends might give him if her were to reveal his situation. They could either advise him to get serious with the love of his life, or to move on with his new girlfriend. At the pub, he relaxes in the gregarious atmosphere as his friends banter and discuss the housing crisis. Peter's friend Gary asks about Naomi's housing situation, and Peter explains that Naomi is currently staying with him. The conversation moves on. Peter continues drinking and stewing in his own shame, not just at his romantic partnerships, but also at the rage he exhibited before his father died. Gary stays behind when the other friends leave, and Peter confides in him about the recent upheavals in his life. According to Gary, Peter likely hurt Ivan's feelings by reacting to Margaret's age the way he did. In addition, Gary comments that Peter's love life is indeed difficult to navigate, and that there is no clear path forward. Walking home, drunk, Peter regrets not having told his father that he and Sylvia were getting back together, just to appease the old man's mind.
Back at home, Naomi senses that something happened between Peter and Sylvia. Peter admits to still loving Sylvia. Naomi understands and even feels sympathy for Sylvia. Peter breaks up with Naomi, arranging for her to stay in his father's house in Kildare. Naomi tells Peter that he is "sick in the head" for trying to "put everyone in their little box." In other words, his obsession with being normal harms everyone in his life. According to Naomi, if Peter loves both women, then he can continue seeing them both. Naomi also feels angry at being used. They kiss, and Peter agrees to have sex with her and profess his love for her in the morning as she wishes.
Chapter 14
Ivan heads to his father's house in Kildare with Alexei on Sunday evening, having spent the weekend at Margaret's house. He fantasizes about her showing up at his upcoming chess tournament. Upon arriving home, his reveries are interrupted by Naomi's appearance. She explains who she is and why she is at the house. Peter had tried unsuccessfully to reach Ivan to let him know about Naomi staying at their father's house. As Ivan and Naomi chat, Naomi realizes that Peter never told his brother about her, and Ivan discovers that Peter was involved in an age-gap romantic relationship.
At her request, Ivan shows Naomi an old photograph of his family and Sylvia. Naomi at first seems less interested in her apparent rival than in the Koubek family. She goes on to question Ivan about Margaret, but he deflects, irritated that Peter betrayed his trust to confide in Naomi. She tells Ivan that she is worried about Peter. Unable to cope with dueling senses of anger, betrayal, pity, and fear, Ivan snaps at Naomi that Koubek family matters are none of her business. She gazes at him, saying "fair enough." Later, alone in his room, Ivan reflects on past wrongdoings, both his own and Peter's, and how their relationship soured into mutual contempt, particularly after Sylvia's accident. Finally, exhausted, Ivan stops ruminating and plays a game of online chess.
Analysis
After her encounter with Ollie, Margaret's thoughts spiral with conjecture: how the rumor mill must have churned until her ex-husband and her mother were made aware of Margaret's relationship with Ivan. Margaret's pain at the idea of social judgment has an evolutionary basis. For hunter-gatherer ancestors, ostracization increased the likelihood of death. As a result, humans are primed to seek social connection while also "[avoiding] and [rejecting] individuals who are judged to be poor relational partners and group members" (Leary and Cottrell). Since Ivan is a much younger man fresh out of university without a stable career, he would widely be considered by Margaret's community to be an inept partner. For this reason, she not only fears the judgments of others; she also judges herself.
Peter feels he would rather "drop dead" than be polyamorous because it does not align with his conception of a normal intimate life (Chapter 13). He uses words like "unnerving," "fetishists," "irrelevance," "perverse," and "deviance" to describe those who engage in multiple sexual and romantic partnerships at the same time. While there are no current official statistics on the number of people in polyamorous relationships in Ireland, there does exist a group called Polyamory Ireland that organizes meet-ups for those interested in ethical non-monogamy in Ireland. Peter wants to see himself as progressive and open-minded, but he cannot abandon conventional notions of life and love. He also fears losing his composure since his ideal self-image is of a rational and "normal" man.
Peter recognizes that his rage at his father's predicament was due to a fear of abandonment. He remembers having "flare-ups of bad temper" that manifested "in a blind rage at everything: the consultants, registrars, the hospital vending machines" (Chapter 13). All of this was a bid to be seen and to have his grief at being left behind, yet again, acknowledged. Other experiences of abandonment include his mother leaving the family and Sylvia ending their relationship after the car accident. Looking back on the situation, Peter could not bear to witness his father's acquiescence to the unfortunate cards he was dealt. Instead, Peter perceived his father's acceptance as a form of weakness. The resulting regression ("like a child again, flare-ups of bad temper ignored") haunts Peter even in the novel's present day. He continues to feel engulfed in shame.
Both Naomi and Sylvia display a far more accepting attitude toward the other's role in Peter's life than he himself does. Stuck in a state of intellectual paralysis and moral dissonance, Peter cannot confront the way he instrumentalizes intimacy. Instead, he oscillates between Naomi (who fulfills his bodily desires) and Sylvia (who provides intellectual and emotional closeness). Here, Rooney blurs the line between ethical non-monogamy and emotional incoherence. Peter's involvement with the two women shows his inability to reconcile different parts of himself.
Peter's half-truths become increasingly apparent as Naomi and Ivan begin to talk. Naomi discovers that Peter never told his younger brother about their relationship, which, in her perspective, relegates her to a mere sex object. Ivan, on the other hand, finds out that Peter is romantically involved with a younger person despite having harshly criticized Margaret for doing the same. Naomi expresses concern for Peter's mental health in light of his father's death. Ivan rejects this new understanding, not quite ready to let go of his anger and resentment. He snaps at Naomi that Koubek family matters are none of her business, further marginalizing her place in Peter's life. This scene is a moment of convergence as Naomi begins to bridge the gap between the two brothers. The revelations that come to light demonstrate the impossibility of controlling one's own narrative. In the course of the novel's plot, this is a turning point.
