“If we only fell in love with people who were perfect for us…then there wouldn't be so much fuss about love in the first place.”
The narrative is filled with instances of mismatched lovers taking a leap out of guilt, civility, or companionship. Furthermore, the need to fit in with the upper-class causes some of the characters to compromise their desires to move up the ladder. Initially, Tinker and Katey had a connection but circumstances force the banker to end up with Eve. Years later, the two try to rekindle their romance, however, Katey finds out the truth about Tinker’s wealth and background. From this disappointment, Katey chooses to explore a relationship with Dickey but they both know that is headed nowhere. The quote is a response by Dickey regarding the expectations that Katey has held for a partner or relationship. In that, she is seeking someone perfect yet falling in love is not a choice or something we can control. Katey is in love with Tinker but she cannot see herself with him because of the imperfections in his past.
“I have no doubt that they were the right choices for me. And at the same time, I know that right choices by definition are the means by which life crystallizes loss.”
Told from Katey’s future perspective, the story highlights the junctures in life where choices are made, whether right or wrong. Through her journey—akin to other characters—Katey has had to make career, romantic, and relationship decisions that changed the course of her life. The question she is asking herself at her advanced age is whether these choices were the correct ones or not. In the statement, Katey recognizes that her choices were the right ones but there is some regret in foregoing the others. Though there are some regrets, over time the right choices turn them into contentment since they served their purpose. Though Katey made a huge romantic choice that might have been regrettable at the time, her marriage to a different man turns out to be the right choice.
“In our twenties, when there is still so much time ahead of us, time that seems ample for a hundred indecisions, for a hundred visions and revisions—we draw a card, and we must decide right then and there whether to keep that card and discard the next, or discard the first card and keep the second. And before we know it, the deck has been played out and the decisions we have just made will shape our lives for decades to come.”
The characters belong to a circle of upper echelons and work towards maintaining the status or proving their worth. The youth in the narrative seek the approval of the elite by adopting personalities and behaviors that may warrant acceptance. This puts them at risk of making decisions that may alter their life for good in terms of embracing their true identities. Therefore, the older Katey looks back and contemplates the choices they made to advance in the social circles and career-wise. The quote highlights how our younger years seem to have a lot of options but reduce as time passes. Katey made choices that appeared to be promising yet cannot fully know until they fully play out. Now that they have played out, she acknowledges the manner in which they shaped her future and luckily it was for the better.
