Chapter 22

Summary: Chapter 22, Hypothesis

This chapter returns to the hypothesis that supposes Kathy took shelter on an island’s beach overnight. After a night’s rest, she uses the engine to start a fire to warm herself and plans to go south until she hits the mainland. Kathy pours the last of her gas into the tank. She notices the weather is cold and foggy, and for a moment she feels like her task is impossible. But Kathy gets in the boat and sets off, using the sun to steer. She imagines building a casino in the desolate forest to bring some color. She remembers going to Las Vegas with John and Tony several years ago. She enjoyed the rush of possibility that gambling gave her.

Kathy thinks about the night in Vegas that felt magical as she and Tony played blackjack. Then John tried to get her to leave the table by firmly placing his hands on her shoulders from behind, a silent signal for her to leave. Even though she refused to go, his intrusion ended her winning streak. Soon, Kathy and Tony quit and went for a drink. Talk turned to John after Kathy complained that he broke the good-luck spell. Tony said John hadn’t meant to ruin the evening. He just didn’t believe in luck because he rigs the cards ahead of time. Misunderstanding, Kathy insisted that John’s not a cheat. Tony conceded but added that John didn’t like losing. Tony thought politicians were like magicians, manipulating things. Kathy suggested Tony become a candidate himself, but Tony knew he didn’t have the right image.

The fog lifts, but the air has grown colder. Kathy is sure she will make it through this ordeal. She thinks about the glow that used to surround her and John. Kathy’s mind goes back to Vegas.

She and Tony had several drinks, and Tony explained that if she wanted to be lucky, she had to open herself to luck, like a window. Thinking of Harmon, she said she had tried that once, but it had ended up being unpleasant. Kathy wanted to keep what she did a secret, but the secret became worse when John found out about it. She knew that if she did it again, John would leave her. After gambling a little more, Tony and Kathy retired to their rooms. Inside, John pretended to be asleep. Kathy realized she had felt happy this evening, which was unusual for her. John started talking in his sleep, but she knew she couldn’t help him. She got dressed and went back to the casino, feeling the glow again.

On the lake, Kathy knows she is lost, but she will keep playing to win.

Analysis: Chapter 22

On one level, the chapter presents a hypothesis that highlights Kathy’s optimistic and resourceful nature, beginning and ending with her hopes of finding a way to get out of this mess. Whereas many people might give up in such a situation, Kathy continues to hope for the best and work to make it happen. This capability may help explain why Kathy stayed in her marriage for so many years when she hated being a politician’s spouse and all that role entailed. Kathy is a problem solver, not a quitter.

The bulk of the chapter, however, focuses on time Kathy spent in a Vegas casino a few years back, when she and John were already in the throes of their difficulties. Kathy and John’s interactions in this chapter show how much distance and even outright dislike exist between them. John announces his presence at the blackjack table by placing his hands on Kathy’s shoulders. Neither spouse is truly comfortable touching the other. The grip of John’s fingers is “stiff,” and Kathy perceives his fingertips as “digging into” her. John soon leaves Kathy, and she doesn’t encounter him again until much later that evening when she returns to their room. About to get into bed, she hears John start mumbling angry words in his sleep. She instantly decides to leave John alone with his suppressed rage, and she returns to the casino. While readers may view Kathy as uncaring in this scene, the narrative has clearly shown, except for Kathy’s deflective behavior in Chapter 13, Kathy’s inability to get John to trust her with his inner demons. By this point in their relationship, she understands that she can’t help, not because she doesn’t want to but because John won’t let her.

Kathy spends the bulk of her time in the casino, however, with Tony, who has been her gambling partner. The details of her conversations with Tony cause various pieces of the puzzle to fit together. What becomes abundantly clear is that Kathy had an affair with a dentist named Harmon. Less clear is when the affair took place, how much John knows about it, and what impact the affair had on their marriage. John and Kathy already have a bevy of issues that could lead to marital discord. Readers may wonder: Do Kathy and John’s current troubles stem more from the totality of their lives together, the pressure of the political lifestyle, and putting off a house and a family until the future? Do their problems arise because John has hidden the ugly truth of what happened in Vietnam from Kathy all these years? Or do the problems result from Kathy’s affair with Harmon? The answers would help determine how solvable their marital issues are.