Summer of '69

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Part 1, Chapter 3

Part 1, Chapters 4-6

Part 1, Chapters 7-11

Part 1, Chapters 12-16

Part 2, Chapters 17-20

Part 2, Chapters 21-24

Part 2, Chapters 25-28

Part 2, Chapters 29-32

Part 3, Chapters 33-34

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Themes

Maturity and Responsibility

David’s gift of the Tree of Life necklace, and its symbolic meaning of maturity and responsibility, suggests a major theme within Summer of ‘69. Each of the main characters wrestles with moving away from irresponsible behavior to gain maturity. Kate and her daughters all start the novel with genuine problems. Kate worries for her enlisted son and has painful memories of her first marriage. Blair has unwillingly given up a promising career, and her troubled husband seems to be having an affair. Kirby is hiding her wounds from a difficult breakup and miscarriage. Even Jessie, at only 13, is navigating intense feelings of powerlessness.

Each woman initially chooses to handle her problem through avoidance. Kate uses alcohol to dull her worry and secrecy to smooth over her past, causing her to delay her life with David. Blair indulges in fantasies of regaining her former life, holding out hope that Joey will come and rescue her, even though she’s carrying Angus’s twins. Kirby thinks that a new location will let her forget her former love affair with Scottie, burying herself in work and trips to the beach. Jessie begins shoplifting to create a false sense of control over her fear and anger. None of these behaviors are substitutes, however, for a more mature solution. To truly mitigate problems, Hilderbrand suggests, one must be sympathetic, honest, and courageous enough to assert oneself.

Kate must learn to sympathize with her younger self, who had few resources to combat Wilder’s excesses. At the same time, she must say goodbye to the patterns that have arrested her development and stop paying penance for not being stronger. Her decision to stand up to Exalta, leave All’s Fair, and become the head of her own household show the benefits of her courageous action. No longer satisfied with the role of childish wife, she steps fully into being the matriarch of her and David’s family.

Blair grows up with a mindset much like her mother’s. Blair’s lack of communication with Angus complicates their differences. Moreover, her inability to part with her idealized conception of her past keeps Blair torn between a life with Angus and a dream with Joey. Only when Blair realizes how much she values motherhood does her desire for escape end. Newly realistic, Blair can fairly demand assistance from her husband and create a new start as a self-sufficient but responsible woman. Her mature self-assertation and sympathy for Angus’s issues allow her to create a strong and centered family.

Kirby’s shame regarding her missteps with Scottie Turbo causes her to run away where no one knows her. A new job allows her to naively think she’s being responsible and mature. However, Kirby’s maturity only blossoms when she confesses to Darren the truth of her past—including her pregnancy, intention to have an abortion, and subsequent miscarriage. Rather than hide their love, she declares that she won’t be in a clandestine relationship. Even though it might mean loneliness, Kirby risks standing up for herself, embracing her self-worth because her unhealthy relationship with Scottie taught her that lesson. By putting the past behind her, Kirby gains Darren’s willingness to assert his love for her openly.

Jessie’s ability to shift from sublimating her anger through the immature activity of shoplifting to advocating for real change (regarding Garrison’s inappropriate advances toward her and Helen) allows her to win back her self-esteem. When she takes responsibility for her actions and corrects them, she feels a lightening of her burden, which allows her to recognize Helen’s suffering. By outing Garrison to Suze, Jessie redirects her anger to effect positive change. She shows she’s matured when she’s able to recognize that the adults in her world have heartbreaks and foibles just as she does.

All of Hildebrand’s main characters go on a journey that leads them away from damaging and limiting themselves through escapist behavior to becoming self-assertive and sympathetic. They accept the past, embrace responsibility for themselves and others, and achieve new beginnings that promise greater fulfillment.

Choosing What Male Behavior to Accept

The issue of women’s rights is prevalent throughout Hilderbrand’s novel. As products of the sixties, Blair and Kirby can easily declare themselves feminists, while Kate must learn to embrace the shifts in expectations that have occurred since 1953. Additionally, masculine behaviors highlight the way women can or can’t advocate for themselves in choosing a partner. Hilderbrand privileges the embrace of positive self-assertion over toxic masculinity.

In 1953, a woman’s sphere was mainly domestic, and the expectation was that personal problems weren’t publicly discussed. Men were considered the authority, something they sometimes abused, and women had little recourse socially, financially, or emotionally to counter what occurred. Mrs. Bennie of the Shiretown Inn shows how often one might be expected to look the other way when she discusses discretion and her male clientele. In this environment, Kate deals with the humiliation of Wilder’s multiple affairs.

In 1969, Garrison, Luke, Scottie, and Angus represent differing variations of sexist male expectations of female existence. Young, wealthy, and privileged, Garrison and Luke see women as objects and violate them physically, not expecting any consequence. Garrison preys on both Jessie and Helen, who are six years younger than him, and Luke engages in sadomasochistic role-playing with Patty, bruising her and pulling her hair. Older characters like Exalta and Bitsy seem to actively ignore this toxic problem, but Kirby and Suze both try to put an end to it.

Scottie too abuses his authority in his approach to the younger Kirby. When they first kiss, she’s wearing his handcuffs. Their secret affair, along with Scottie not telling her he’s married, diminish her sense of value, making it difficult for her to regain her self-composure. Kirby must work hard to recover from their imbalanced relationship.

Similarly, although Angus is intelligent and is never violent to Blair, he still sees her role as his wife in a traditional way. He demands that she give up her job and stay home—although his reasoning is unclear. Additionally, his view of masculinity makes him ashamed to reveal his need for a therapist. Only when Angus shifts his views of these gender roles can he and Blair have a successful relationship.

Interpersonal relationships can be hard to navigate, but Hilderbrand suggests that finding a man who doesn’t believe in dominating others is essential. Angus becomes an acceptable partner for Blair only when he changes. David’s kindness and his affirmation of Kate’s independence are crucial to combatting Wilder’s damage. Darren’s acceptance that to Kirby an openly loving relationship is non-negotiable suggests that mature men can respect women. This growth goes beyond showing a new start for the characters but portrays a historical shift for a whole generation that Hilderbrand approves.

Sexual Attraction Versus Sustainable Love

The overwhelming emotion of sexual attraction can sweep one away. But a relationship based solely on this can’t substitute for a deeper love. True love includes a level of serious interaction and healthy compromise, either for oneself or one’s partner. Hilderbrand emphasizes the difference between sexual attraction and true love throughout Summer of ‘69. Kate, Blair, Kirby, and Jessie all learn that attractions are powerful but love can’t be built around that quality alone.

Wilder Foley is “very, very handsome” (199) and reportedly charming. Kate is attracted to Wilder, and wants him to be attracted to her, but he does little to bolster her emotional life. He has little regard for Kate and disrespects his vows of fidelity with at least 40 extramarital liaisons. David, while not as “conventionally” attractive or outwardly captivating as Wilder, has genuine concern for Kate and her welfare. Wilder seems like an exciting romantic choice but fails as a partner, while David genuinely enriches his spouse’s life. In addition, David is willing to do the heavy lifting of a relationship, telling Kate when her behavior hurts their marriage. He offers solutions and is willing to compromise when needed. Embracing true love, this couple will weather challenges for the long haul.

Like Wilder, Joey offers Blair a romanticized view of sexual attraction, a state in which she’s eternally adored and admired. However, like Kate, Blair eventually must face that Joey’s life—his entertaining and plans in New York City—doesn’t really include her. Her fantasies aren’t his. While Angus’s behavior is problematic for a large portion of the plot, he eventually returns, repentant, to Blair. Unlike Wilder and more like David, he offers realistic compromises as a husband and father. As the novel’s final pages reveal, he’s been true to his word. While Angus is far from perfect, he works with Blair toward building a fulfilling family life.

In Kirby’s passionate relationship with Scottie Turbo, she experiences sexual pleasure, but their romantic life is an illusion because Scottie is secretly married. This, plus his cutting off contact after Kirby announces that she’s pregnant, shows that their romance is ephemeral. Darren, on the other hand, respects Kirby. When she asks to wait for sex, he doesn’t push—and he doesn’t judge her for her past when she reveals it. Furthermore, when Kirby realizes that she’s been kept out of his social world and finds that she can’t continue the relationship, Darren makes his love for Kirby public as a testament to it. This gesture proves that his promises of love are far more substantial than Scottie’s.

Even Jessie’s young loves illustrate the importance of finding someone who embraces the difficult. Initially, Jessie sees Pick as magical and mesmerizing. When he kisses and talks about Woodstock, he seems both romantic and adventurous. Jessie is easily confused into thinking that Pick’s attraction to her is love, so when he rejects her for Sabrina, Jessie’s heartbreak is real. Once she realizes that attraction is temporary, Jessie is much better at picking a partner upon her return to school. Andy is someone with whom she shares opinions, political views, and other conversations, interactions more sustainable for a growing relationship than those she experienced with Pick.

It’s easy to fall for a handsome person who makes one feel powerful and sexy—but a real relationship must exist beyond the surface level. Hilderbrand advocates for this by pairing her heroines with more sensitive men like David, Angus, Darren, and Andy—characters who embody seriousness, compromise, and care.