The Oppenheimer Triplets
Ironically, even though the three “test tube babies” conceived together are seemingly born with an inherent desire to disassociate from each other in every way—and who are never referred to as the Oppenheimer triplets by people they know—they are introduced exactly as that. And as often happens in such cases of multiple births, they very quickly come to establish an individual identity encapsulated by a single descriptive term.
Harrison was always the first of the triplets to reach any developmental milestone. In addition to clearly being singled out as the strongest, he is also the champion when it comes to smug superiority with its accompaniment of unlikability. Toxic and obnoxious, the irreparably opinionated Harrison cannot help but be convinced that whenever others speak of him in reference to his brother and sister, they must almost by law—and certainly by experience—think of him as “the smart triplet.”
Harrison would naturally refer to Lewyn as the weird triplet because of the three, only his brother ever turned to the family domicile during school breaks. Even weirder is that Lewyn does this because he actually wants to rather than out of some infinitely more relatable secret devious motivation. Easily hurt and needing to be shown that he is loved, Lewyn still manifests the family trait of solipsistic self-interest, but in a manner nearly as comprehensively unpleasant as his brother.
In a multi-gender set of triples dominated by boys, what else could Sally Oppenheimer ever really hope to be except “the girl.” Sally is the first of the triplets to get confirmation from an outside source that their father isn’t all he is cracked up to be and this quality of possession of unwanted knowledge follows her into adulthood like some sort of apple plucked from a forbidden tree. It will manifest itself most fully in her steadfast refusal to admit her same-sex preferences and then, once that knowledge is undeniable, to accept the consequences of it being outside the realm of choice. And so, Sally wastes many opportunities for happiness out of a pointless desire to avoid ever becoming the Oppenheimer triplet known for her sexuality.
Phoebe Oppenheimer
Despite not being part of the multiple births of Oppenheimers conceived outside the womb, Phoebe Oppenheimer is not immune to tersely described nicknames. As a result of being born nearly twenty years later, Phoebe is known as “the latecomer” among the Oppenheimer offspring. Perhaps because her life is not lived in direct competition with her siblings, Phoebe becomes the kind of character that one does not want to simplistically pigeonhole.
Her innate likability is what really distinguishes her from her much older brothers and sister and the juxtaposition may provide some insight into why the rest of the world can’t be bothered with much more than a capsule summarizing of the triplets. Her life could not be more different from those of her brothers and sister and his divergence is symbolized by accommodations. Sally’s old bedroom becomes her bedroom while the bedroom her brothers shared becomes Phoebe’s lounge and study space. She enjoys that rarest of rarities: enjoying the life of an only child while actually being one of four siblings.
It is Phoebe who is responsible for telling the tale of the Oppenheimer triplets as well as her own story. She doesn’t bear the burdens of having to share everything like her brothers and sister, but because of her latecomer status, there are also sacrifices that must be made which had not been forced upon them.
The Oppenheimer Parents
Salo Oppenheimer eventually marries Johanna whose burning desire for children is inhibited by the actual ability to produce them. The decision to conceive outside the womb using a brand-new fertilization procedure leaves Salo feeling emotionally disconnected from his offspring. The triplets’ desire to establish individual lives unconnected to family bonding leaves Johanna feeling all alone and pointless. Johanna thus decides many years later to bring a latecomer into this dysfunctional family dynamic.
By the time the triplets enter middle school, the emotional alienation has already become physical alienation for Salo as he becomes capable of disappearing in an instant and reappearing later and later into the night. For Johanna, the latecomer becomes a second chance at maternal contentment not just denied from the moment the triplets were conceived but seemingly because they had been conceived.
