Truly Madly Guilty

Erika is the other central character. She is an accountant, married to Oliver, who is also an accountant. Both had difficult childhoods, which connects them and helps them understand each other. Erika’s mother, Sylvia, is a hoarder, which means Erika grew up in a “dirty” house where it was very easy to lose things and where she was always bitten by fleas. Now that she is an adult, her house is immaculate, and she is very rigid about doing things the right way. She took Clementine’s mother, Pam, as a role model, using her systems and techniques, such as going to the same hairdresser, vacuuming every week, and bringing chocolate nuts when she is visiting someone’s house.

Erika and Oliver are going through IVF to have a baby, even though Erika never used to want to have a child and is still ambivalent about the prospect. Although she’s done a lot of work processing her issues in therapy, there are things she doesn’t talk about, like going through IVF and her problems with her friendship with Clementine. She is still very jealous of Clementine—of her life, her childhood, and her daughters—and feels like a friend who is “put up” with rather than truly cared for.

In the narrative, it is Oliver’s idea to ask for Clementine’s eggs for the IVF because he believes that Erika and Clementine are genuine friends. He hasn’t yet discovered the resentment and jealousy that lies between them. Erika learns that Clementine is “repulsed” at the idea of giving Erika her eggs. Erika internalizes this and believes that she herself is what repulses her friend. When she and Oliver save Ruby’s life, she knows Clementine owes her a debt and will now give her the eggs, but it’s for the wrong reasons.

Near the end of the story, Oliver discovers a suitcase where Erika hides the small things she steals from Clementine and her family and finally realizes the extent of the issues Erika and Clementine have between them. Oliver reminds her that he’s her best friend, and slowly they work together to help Erika move past her issues with Clementine. In the end, they decide to foster children instead. With this decision, Erika accepts her upbringing. She finds value in herself instead of looking for validation in Clementine.

Sam is Clementine’s husband and the father of Holly and Ruby. He’s excited about his new job but still prioritizes Clementine’s needs. He helps ease Clementine’s audition anxiety and trying to make sure Holly and Ruby don’t interrupt too much. Ultimately, he strives to be a great father and husband. He has a complicated relationship with his masculinity because although he is happy as a businessman, he often imagines what it would have been like if he has pursued a more manly, blue-collar line of work.

After the events of the barbecue, Sam has developed the symptoms of PTSD. He finds it impossible to focus at work. He’s irritable. He blames Clementine for what happened to Ruby. Anything that reminds him of the barbecue sets him off emotionally. His masculinity makes it difficult to accept that such a seemingly little thing with no permanent consequences could have had such an effect on him. Once he faces his trauma and begins treatment, he regains his balance and feels satisfied with his life.

Oliver is Erika’s husband. He is very athletic; he regularly runs, swims, and plays squash. Because he grew up with parents who were addicted to alcohol, he attended Al-Anon meetings, organized for families of “alcoholics.” Jaded, he believes that people don’t change. He has a difficult time in social situations but is one of the few people on the block who has a civil relationship with Harry, their neighbor who shouts, complains, and spits at people. He is the first to notice that Harry hasn’t been seen since the day before the barbecue, and he and Tiffany go to check on him and find his dead body.

Oliver is deeply upset when Erika unsuspectingly mixes anti-anxiety medication with alcohol and acts in a way that reminds him of his parents. Although this is unusual for her, it means that when he discovers the suitcase of things Erika stole from Clementine, he is caught up in his rigid belief that it is impossible for people to change. However, he knows Erika and how hard she works to fix herself. He loves Erika and moves past his fear and disappointment. He also quickly understands Erika’s complicated relationship with Clementine and reassured his wife that he is, in fact, her best friend. Although Oliver was the one who wanted a baby the most, he realizes that fostering children may be what he and Erika are meant to do.

Holly and Ruby are Sam and Clementine’s five- and two-year-old children, respectively. Holly collects rocks and keeps them in a fancy purse. Ruby carries a kitchen whisk that she treats like a stuffed animal. At the barbecue, no one suspects that Holly and Ruby are doing anything but playing happily together, so it’s a big plot twist for the reader to learn that Holly pushed Ruby into the fountain. This revelation, which Holly confessed to Pam, plays a major role in underlining the complexities of responsibility and guilt. Worried that Ruby may not survive and the subsequent effects on Holly, Pam lies and tells Holly that Ruby simply slipped and fell into the fountain. Because Pam conceals Holly’s actions, Holly never faces true consequences.

Tiffany is Vid’s wife and a wealthy woman who made her money by flipping real-estate properties. She was a stripper when she was younger, and her character functions as the “the bombshell” trope. Although she is confident in her body and sexuality, she is aware of the social mores that make it a complicated profession to talk about.

At the barbecue, her past comes out, and the risqué discussion gets a little out of control. Tiffany was about to pretend to give Clementine a lap dance when Erika spots Ruby in the fountain. This, as well as an encounter with a man from her past, makes her feel ashamed. But for her, it is her family’s distress that is the most important. She realizes that her daughter, Dakota, and Vid are both harboring guilt over what happened, and she refuses to let her own shame stop her from fixing things. She goes over to Clementine and Sam’s house even though she knows they don’t want to see her or her family. She explains things and helps both her family and Clementine begin to move past the events of the barbecue.

Tiffany’s role in the narrative shifts from bombshell to stigma. The barbecue guests, who were once drawn to her sensual allure, become to see her as an inversed sex symbol: one of shame, regret, and guilt. However, she is a genuine person who accepts the decisions she has made in her life. Her strength in choosing to resist shame and instead protect her family shows that social pressures won’t prohibit a good person from making the right decision.

Vid, an electrician, is Erika and Oliver’s larger-than-life neighbor. He initially appears to be a stereotypical philanderer, or “womanizer.” However, Vid is fiercely devoted to his wife, Tiffany. He adamantly accepts her past profession as a stripper and maintains that he would physically harm anyone who disrespects her. As an extrovert, Vid has a cheeky personality and “look[s] like Tony Soprano.” Vid hosts the infamous impromptu barbecue with Tiffany. He loves to host and has an expensive and fanciful house with an impressive fountain in the back yard. He immediately connects with Clementine over food and music—they share an emotional connection to the finer things in life. He takes a sensual delight in life and has no shame associated with sex. In the narrative, he does not want to admit that the events of the barbecue affected him, even though he bashed the fountain with a crowbar. Vid is unable to move on from the traumatic experience until orchestrates a visit with Ruby, who survived.

Dakota is Vid and Tiffany’s 10-year-old daughter. She loves to read. During the barbecue, she plays with Ruby, Holly, and the dog but eventually goes back inside to read. She blames herself for Ruby’s accident, a misconception that her parents fail to correct. She believes that Clementine blames her as well. Dakota punishes herself by destroying her copy of The Hunger Games and stops reading, which concerns Tiffany. When Tiffany realizes what is going on, she takes charge and brings Dakota to Clementine’s house so that her daughter can be unburdened of her guilt. Whereas Ruby’s accident represents the physical consequences of parental inattentiveness, Dakota’s internalized guilt represents the emotional consequences.

Pam, Clementine’s mother, is a flawed character. As a former social worker, she does what she believes is right and pressures her daughter to abide. Erika thinks of Pam as a perfect model of behavior, and even Clementine doesn’t doubt that her mother is usually right. Although Pam has good intentions, her actions often have negative consequences for others. Pam demanded that Clementine befriend Erika; as a result, the girls’ friendship was built on a dynamic of resentment and jealousy. Pam believed that it was right to invite Erika’s mother, Sylvia, to dinner, despite Sylvia’s incendiary personality. As a result, Sam had a breakdown. When Pam blames Clementine for Ruby’s near drowning, the reader sees that she is fallible. Pam also perpetuates the cycle of secrets and lies by hiding the truth that Holly pushed Ruby into the fountain.

Sylvia, Erika’s mother, is a foil to “perfect” Pam. Sylvia has a hoarding disorder, which she developed after her husband abruptly left. People with this mental health condition typically find it difficult to let go of objects after a traumatic loss. Although Sylvia is unable to confront her illness, she is a successful nurse. Sylvia is envious of Pam for stealing her daughter’s affections and enjoys being freewheeling and disruptive. When she shows Erika the photograph of her and Clementine and Sylvia in a rollercoaster, she reveals a glimpse of what life might have been like had she provided Erika with a clean, stable home environment—like the one Pam has provided. When Clementine sees the photo, she wonders who Erika would have become. Moriarty suggests that people, including Sylvia, are not reducible to their trauma.