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Summary

PART II: Bear

Alice, 1950s—Carl, 1961

In this chapter, Alice Ward is set up with Peter Van Laar III, who is 29, by her older sister, Delphine, whose husband, George, was Peter’s college friend. The two meet at the Junior Assembly, dance, and soon after, Alice and Delphine receive an invitation to Self-Reliance, the Van Laars' grand home in the Adirondacks. 

On the train, Alice does her nervous habit of closing her eyes tightly and keeping them closed. She feels inferior to Delphine, who is intelligent and has her life figured out. Once off the train, their driver mentions Peter’s cold reputation and the house’s unusual origins: a Swiss chalet, disassembled and rebuilt by Shattuck laborers. He finds the name ironic, given the Van Laars’ lack of self-reliance. Alice barely understands the joke, distracted by nerves and car sickness. She has little experience with men and is nervous to see Peter, but reminds herself of her and Peter’s effortless dance at the ball, giving her hope. Vic Hewitt, a worker for the Van Laar’s, escorts the girls to their rooms. As Alice settles in, Vic informs her that the family is having cocktails on the lawn, and he introduces the young girl beside him as his daughter Tessie Joe, or T.J.. 

At dinner, the Van Laars speak of lineage and legacy. The original Peter Van Laar (Peter I) had come to the Adirondacks in the 1870s, surveying land where Self-Reliance would be built. His story, as told by the Van Laars, painted him as a self-made visionary who oversaw the construction himself. This is the opposite of the driver’s version of the story, where locals did the labor. Peter I founded Camp Emerson, who was ridiculed for the idea of a summer camp, but as it flourished, more wealthy people sent their children there to learn about conservation. Delphine asks if Peter had attended the camp, and, offended, he says no. 

Alice senses she is being evaluated as a future wife at this dinner. She flirts with Peter across the table, imagining life away from the city, and realizes she could embrace it. That September, Peter proposes to Alice, who is now eighteen years old. They move to Albany, and Alice gives birth nine months later to their first son, Peter IV, nicknamed Bear for his size and soft hair. Alice spends endless hours with Bear, loving him in a way she would never feel again. 

Alice: 1950s  

Alice admits there were a few good years between her and Peter after Bear was born, before Peter started to yell and be unkind. He now treats Alice like a child, dismissing her as foolish and unintelligent. What once amused him, like her misspelled place cards and her absentmindedness, now annoys him. Despite his behavior, they agree that Bear, whom Alice adores, is the one thing keeping them together. Peter insists they have no more children, fearing it will complicate the inheritance of the bank and family business because, for generations, there had only ever been one son. 

The family spends their summers at Self-Reliance, where Peter teaches Bear to sail, ride, play chess, and hunt. Alice believes he’s a good teacher, but Bear’s natural talents came from Delphine, not Peter. Bear is polite, knows the names of every worker, and adores Tessie Joe, calling after her constantly. 

The rest of the year, Alice is alone in Albany while Peter works in Manhattan. He criticizes her constantly, calling her boring and suggesting she drink to be more social, and she internalizes every critique. Peter’s advice clearly shapes her, as her low self-esteem tells her she isn’t good for anything but being Bear’s mother. Before client dinners, she drinks brandy to loosen up, convincing herself it makes her more confident and sophisticated. Drinking has become something she has to do in order to live up to Peter’s expectations, and it becomes Alice’s routine. Her favorite part of the day is her evening glass of wine, and she relies on Peter to tell her when she has too much.  

Carl: 1961 

The Shattuck Township Fire Department is run by four men—Carl Stoddard, Dick Shattuck, Bob Alcott, and Bob Lewis. By 1961, they had built the team from scratch, training volunteers into a well-organized unit. Everyone has a positive attitude except Bob Lewis. 

Carl Stoddard is woken up by an early evening phone call at the fire hall from the local operator. When he asks what the bad news is, she hesitates before saying it’s someone from the Van Laar Preserve. Carl, the preserve’s gardener, finds this strange, as he’s never been directly contacted by the Van Laars before. Carl asks how they found him at the fire hall, and the operator says they don’t even know it’s him answering. She transfers him to Peter Van Laar, a man Carl has spoken very little to.. The Van Laar employees know Peter as quiet and ruthless, far more intolerant and stern than his wife. 

Hearing Peter’s voice, Carl considers mentioning his double role as both a gardener and a firefighter but stays silent. Peter delivers the news: his son is missing. Like Carl, everyone at the preserve knows Bear well because they watched him grow up. Carl and Bear share similar interests in survival and the woods. Just last week, Carl had taught Bear about firewood, and before leaving the preserve today, he had seen Bear on the front porch of Self-Reliance, struggling to tie his shoes. They had exchanged a wave. Over the phone, Peter lets out a wail, and Carl recognizes the pain instantly, for he, too, is a father who has lost a child. 

Carl: 1961 

Carl heads to the preserve with the three other volunteers, briefing them on the way. Bear Van Laar had gone for a hike with his grandfather earlier but turned back to get his pocket knife; he never rejoined the old man. Vic, Carl’s boss, waits for them at the house as the truck pulls up. Vic is described as a stoic man with a missing earlobe, rumored to have lost it in a fight with a black bear. Carl recalls his first day at Self-Reliance, when Vic warned him that the job was year-round, not just summer work. He had little gardening experience but took the job out of desperation since his son was sick and he was broke. Vic had subtly acknowledged this, referencing Carl’s cousin who had told Vic about Carl’s struggles. By 1961, Carl had been working at the preserve for five years. 

Back in the present, Carl is expected to take the lead, given his connection to the preserve, but he hates leading anything. As they discuss Bear’s disappearance, both men privately think of their own children. Vic imagines losing T.J., while Carl is haunted by the memory of his son, Scotty, taking his last breath in a hospital bed. Vic warns them that Mrs. Van Laar (Alice) is very upset and tells them to tread lightly.  

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