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Kipps and Belsey: Chapter 9
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in On Beauty, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Nature of Beauty
Politics in Academia
Race and Identity
The Value of Family
Summary
Analysis
After some deliberation, Kiki decides to go directly to the Kipps house to invite them to the party. Carlene is happy to see Kiki and says that Jerome and Levi are both so handsome. Kiki says she’d like to put everything that happened between Jerome and Victoria behind them, as well as any lingering arguments between Howard and Monty.
Kiki and Carlene seem to immediately have an understanding with each other. Although they come from different countries and each have very different families, they are united by the fact that each of them plays a crucial (and often thankless) role in keeping their family together.
Themes
Carlene asks Kiki what she thinks of Carlene’s house. Nobody has ever asked Kiki this question before, but she says she thinks it’s a nice house. Carlene is skeptical and believes the house feels too new. Kiki takes offense at this, believing it’s an insult against American houses in general, and so she reveals that the previous owner of Carlene’s house was a dialysis patient who accidentally burned himself to death with a cigarette lighter.
In her early conversations with Carlene, Kiki is both curious and defensive. While at first Kiki likes how Carlene asks unusual questions, eventually Kiki begins to interpret Carlene’s behavior as hostile (perhaps imitating what Levi himself did earlier, assuming that Carlene’s class and her husband’s political beliefs make her elitist and judgmental).
Themes
Carlene and Kiki begin talking about poetry, and Carlene asks Kiki if she’s an intellectual like Howard. After considering it, she admits she isn’t, and Carlene says she isn’t one either. They talk more, and Carlene says she’s glad she got to finally meet Kiki in person. Kiki mentions the anniversary party and how she came over to invite Carlene. Carlene protests that she’s too old for parties. Kiki keeps insisting that she come, but Carlene, even though she likes Kiki, acts like going to the party would be impossible.
In this passage, Carlene and Kiki finally put into words what they have in common: They are each married to “intellectuals” without being intellectuals themselves. Additionally, Carlene also is conscious of how she’s getting older, something that Kiki often thinks about herself. By insisting that Carlene come to the party, Kiki is pushing back against people who would call Kiki herself too old for things like parties. Carlene’s indication that going to a party would be impossible is odd and perhaps suggests that she’s hiding something about herself or her family.
Themes
