62 pages • 2 hours read
The Wedding People
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Symbols & Motifs
Phoebe’s Room at the Cornwall Inn
Content Warning: The section of the guide includes discussions of infertility, pregnancy loss, and suicide.
Phoebe’s Roaring Twenties-themed room at the Cornwall Inn illustrates the disconnect between her external circumstances and her internal emotional state. Arriving with idealized expectations, Phoebe had long fantasized about the Cornwall Inn as her “happy place,” envisioning it as a sanctuary of bliss: “[S]he pictured herself on that canopy bed because she could only imagine herself happy in a place she had never been, a bed she had never slept in” (12). Much like her other life expectations—marriage, a career, and motherhood—the reality of her stay at the Cornwall Inn starkly contrasts with her aspirations. The room, festively decorated for a party, clashes with the tranquil setting she envisioned for her final moments alive. Lila’s frequent, uninvited intrusions disrupt the privacy Phoebe anticipated for her last night, and the absence of room service prevents her from indulging in a final luxurious meal. Most significantly, the balcony becomes a point of unexpected revelation, offering Phoebe a view of the wedding guests that sparks her curiosity and allows her to eavesdrop on their conversations. These unanticipated experiences ultimately provide her with renewed purpose and a reason to continue living.
As the narrative progresses, Phoebe’s room evolves into a sanctuary where she can embark on her journey of self-reinvention. The room becomes a space of solace and creativity, allowing Phoebe to immerse herself in reading and writing—activities she once cherished but recently struggled to prioritize. The room, initially a stark and impersonal environment, gradually transforms into a nurturing retreat that supports her emotional healing and personal growth. By the time she prepares to leave, Phoebe reflects on her attachment to the room, acknowledging that she “feel[s] nostalgia for the room. No, she feels love for it” (349). This shift from mere nostalgia to a strong sense of love signifies her deep connection to the space that has been instrumental in her rediscovery of joy and purpose. It underscores how the room has come to symbolize a pivotal chapter in her life, representing both her past struggles and her newfound hope for the future.
Classical Literature
Classical literature serves as a recurring motif in The Wedding People, highlighting the different perspectives individuals adopt at various stages of their lives. Phoebe reflects on her early fascination with Victorian-era novels, which depicted upper-class families, grand parties, and idyllic happiness. She explains that these novels taught “her how to be normal, how to dream, how to believe that happiness and a new family would arrive in a single moment, on a single page” during her period of grieving the sudden loss of her father (102). Despite her sorrow, Phoebe remained ambitious, envisioning a future as a wife, mother, and tenured professor. She turned to her books, seeking solace and validation, and needed “to believe these people were out there looking for her, these good and moral people with big estates and bigger hearts who would fall madly in love with just how alone she was, because wasn’t life fucking hard enough?” (102). This search for idealized characters reflects her yearning for a sense of belonging and an escape from her harsh reality, illustrating how literature provided both comfort and a distorted lens through which she sought to understand her life.
However, when Phoebe’s reality falls short of the idealized endings depicted in her novels, she approaches her cherished texts with a more critical eye. Disillusioned by her unfulfilled expectations, she shifts from seeking solace in the happy endings of novels like Jane Eyre to scrutinizing them for signs of inevitable disappointment. Instead of being reassured by the narrative’s promise, Phoebe now seeks out “any line that seems to foreshadow the wedding’s ruin. She tries to pinpoint the exact moment when the engagement became a trap” (350). This analytical approach reflects her growing skepticism and the realization that her life’s struggles and failures are not merely anomalies but rather part of a more complex reality. By dissecting the texts for moments of foreshadowing, Phoebe grapples with her feelings of betrayal and disillusionment, ultimately recognizing that the stories she once revered cannot provide the answers or escape she had previously hoped they would. Phoebe’s embrace of her new literary perspective reaches its peak when she insists on displaying classical texts spine-side out in the hotel lobby. This act symbolizes her departure from passive consumption of literature, reflecting her readiness to adopt a more critical approach to both her life and the fictional worlds she explores.
Physical Appearances
Phoebe’s analysis of physical appearances, including her own, underscores the contrast between outward perceptions and internal beliefs. She frequently judges people based on their looks, only to be surprised when her initial assumptions prove incorrect. For example, upon first encountering Lila, Phoebe notes, “Her blond hair is arranged in such a romantic and complicated tangle of braids, Phoebe wonders how many tutorials she watched on Instagram” (8). Based solely on this appearance, Phoebe presumes Lila is shallow, self-centered, and materialistic. While Phoebe’s initial assessment isn’t entirely unfounded, it restricts her ability to perceive Lila’s more nuanced qualities beyond her superficial judgments.
Through her interactions with Juice, who shares her cynicism about physical appearances, Phoebe begins to reflect on her past judgments based on clothing and style. She recalls Matt’s meticulously cared-for belt and how she thought this represented his attention to detail: “how he would walk the perimeter of their house each night, making sure the doors were locked and the cups were in perfect order in the cabinet” (200-01). Phoebe assumed that Matt’s careful dedication would signify a similar commitment in his role as a life partner. Ironically, Matt’s final act before disclosing his affair with Mia was to roll up his belt, highlighting the disconnect between Phoebe’s perceptions based on outward appearances and the reality of his actions.
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