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Chapter 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret., which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Puberty
Friendship, Fitting In, and Social Pressure
Religion
Family Conflict
Summary
Analysis
An hour after Margaret and her parents get to their house in New Jersey, a girl in a bathing suit rings the doorbell. The girl introduces herself as Nancy Wheeler, a fellow sixth grader. Nancy is tall with bouncy hair like Margaret wants to have, and she invites Margaret to play in the sprinklers. Margaret asks Mom if she can go, and Mom says she can, but she has no idea where Margaret’s bathing suit is. Nancy offers to let Margaret borrow one of hers.
Nancy seems kind and generous for inviting the new kid on the block to play. This will help Margaret feel more at home and meet some kids before school starts. Margaret offers clues that she admires Nancy by noting Nancy’s height and bouncy hair—Margaret has ideas about how she’d like to look, and Nancy embodies those ideals.
Themes
Nancy leads Margaret six houses down Morningbird Lane to a house that looks much the same as Margaret’s. In Nancy’s room, the first thing Margaret notices is the dressing table with a mirror shaped like a heart—just like Margaret has always wanted. As Nancy fishes out a swimsuit, she asks for Margaret’s birth month (March) and explains that since the school divides up the sixth graders into three classes based on their birthdays, they’ll be in the same class. Nancy’s birth month is April.
Nancy becomes even more appealing to Margaret because she has a dressing table in a coveted shape. Nancy also establishes herself as an expert life in Farbrook, since she knows so much about the sixth grade classes. In this way, Nancy is helping Margaret know what to expect and how to fit in.
Themes
Nancy offers Margaret a yellow swimsuit, assures her it’s clean, and tells her it’s fine to change in the bedroom. Margaret starts to wiggle into the swimsuit. It’s kind of creepy the way that Nancy watches Margaret struggle into the too-big swimsuit. Margaret leaves her shirt on as long as she can; she doesn’t want Nancy to see that her chest isn’t developing yet. Nancy laughs that Margaret is still “flat,” but Margaret says she’s just “small boned.” Nancy insists that she’s already growing and will look like a girl from Playboy soon. Margaret doesn’t think this is true; Dad gets Playboy and Nancy doesn’t look anything like the girls in the magazine. Nancy looks more like Margaret.
Nancy is kind to welcome Margaret and lend her a swimsuit, but this passage implies that Nancy has an ulterior motive: she wants to compare Margaret’s physical development to hers. This suggests that Nancy is somewhat self-conscious about her own development. At the same time, Nancy seems to think she’s more mature than Margaret because her chest is just a tiny bit more developed—something Margaret suggests is wishful thinking. But Nancy isn’t the only self-conscious one; saying she’s just “small boned” is a way for Margaret to normalize how her body is (or isn’t) changing.
Themes
As Nancy adjusts Margaret’s straps, she admits she thought Margaret would be more mature since she’s from New York—city girls grow up faster. She asks if Margaret has ever kissed a boy. Margaret admits she hasn’t, and Nancy sighs that she hasn’t either. Margaret is thrilled; they seem to be on more equal footing now. But then, Nancy says she practices kissing a lot and demonstrates on her pillow. Margaret is aghast, especially when Nancy then opens her dressing table drawer to reveal makeup. Nancy explains that she experiments so that when she can start wearing makeup in eighth grade, she’ll be ready. She puts on pink lipstick and asks Margaret’s opinion.
Emotionally, Nancy has fully entered puberty: she’s interested in romance, she wants to wear makeup and look more mature, and she also wants to develop physically. So it’s a bit of a letdown that Margaret, a “city girl,” isn’t in the same place emotionally (even though Margaret implies that physically, she and Nancy aren’t too different). Indeed, Margaret shows she’s relatively immature by her shocked reaction to Nancy’s kissing practice.
Themes
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Margaret notes that the lipstick is bright, so Nancy rubs it off and then brushes her long hair. Nancy asks if Margaret always wears her hair pinned up. Margaret insists she’s growing her hair out and it’s currently in an awkward stage, but Mom wants her to wear it down more so it hides that her ears stick out. Nancy says she noticed Margaret’s ears, finds Margaret a towel, and then leads her outside.
Nancy seems to make all manner of observations about other people, possibly because she’s comparing herself to them. Margaret’s defensiveness about her hairstyle suggests that she’s self-conscious about her more childish look. Though she admires Nancy’s relatively mature style, taking care of a longer hairstyle is still not as important to Margaret.
Themes
First, Nancy introduces Margaret to her mother, Mrs. Wheeler. Margaret answers her questions about where she lived in New York and what her parents do. Mrs. Wheeler asks Margaret to tell Mom about the Morningbird Lane ladies’ bowling team and bridge games, but Margaret explains that her mother paints. With a laugh, Mrs. Wheeler offers to help Mom arrange her carpool to Sunday school. Margaret says she doesn’t go to Sunday school and, at this, Nancy drags Margaret away. Mrs. Wheeler calls after the girls that she wants to talk to Evan.
Though Mrs. Wheeler’s offers are friendly, they suggest that in the suburbs, there are specific ways of fitting in. Adult women can join the local ladies’ groups, and kids can go to Sunday school. Both offers pose problems for Margaret. She implies that Mom won’t fit in because she paints instead of bowls, and it seems that Margaret might have a harder time fitting in because she doesn’t attend Sunday school.
Themes
Nancy tells Margaret that Evan is her “disgusting” older brother. Fourteen-year-old boys are disgusting because they only want to look at pictures of naked girls. Margaret takes Nancy’s word for it, since she doesn’t know any 14-year-old boys. Then, Nancy adjusts the sprinkler and leads Margaret through. When they’re standing under it, the water suddenly turns on full blast and drenches the girls. Nancy shrieks that she’s going to tell and races away. Margaret finds herself alone with two boys.
Again, Margaret is more than happy to accept Nancy’s expertise on unfamiliar subjects. Since she doesn’t know any 14-year-old boys, it seems reasonable to her that she should believe Nancy—especially when the boys (one of whom is presumably Evan) are so willing to be mean to the girls.
Themes
Margaret introduces herself, and Evan introduces himself and his friend, Moose. Moose offers to cut the lawn for Dad, but Margaret can’t help thinking of what Nancy said—the boys must be trying to look down her swimsuit. Mrs. Wheeler screams for Evan, and when Nancy returns, Moose teases her about not being able to take a joke. Nancy apologizes to Margaret for the boys’ behavior, gives Margaret her clothes, and offers to walk her home.
Notice that when actually confronted with two 14-year-old boys, Margaret assumes that Nancy must be correct that the boys want to ogle her—she doesn’t seem interested in making up her own mind about them. Margaret isn’t yet willing to think for herself, a mark of her immaturity.
Themes
At Margaret’s house, Nancy tells Margaret to keep the suit, have Mom wash it, and then give it back—it’s an old suit anyway. Margaret had guessed, but she thinks it’s rude to say so. Then, Nancy tells Margaret to make sure she wears loafers without socks on the first day of school. She wants Margaret to join her secret club, and the other kids in it will think Margaret is a baby if she wears socks.
By saying the suit is old, Nancy is flexing her power over Margaret. To be polite, Margaret has no choice but to overlook Nancy’s rudeness and act like she did Margaret a favor. Also, note that Nancy threatens Margaret with the other girls’ disapproval. The no-socks rule might be Nancy’s rule, and another way for Nancy to control Margaret.
Themes
Mom and Dad take Margaret to a hamburger place for supper. Margaret tells Dad about Moose’s offer to mow the lawn, but Dad insists they moved out here so he can cut his own lawn. Later that night, Margaret wonders when she’ll get used to this house—the closets are as big as bathrooms. Once she’s in bed with the light off, there are shadows on the wall. She struggles to fall asleep.
Again, Margaret is struggling to understand her parents. She thought they had an open and honest relationship before, but now, Margaret feels unmoored, as though she no longer understands who they are and what they want. The unfamiliar house reinforces that feeling, too.
Themes
Margaret tells God that she’s in her new bedroom, and it’s so quiet here—she’s afraid. She met Nancy today, and Nancy seemed disappointed that Margaret wasn’t more adult. Margaret asks God to help her start to grow breasts, and then she shares that Mom and Dad don’t know that she talks to God. They’d think she was weird, so Margaret talks to God privately, in her head. According to Mom, “God is a nice idea” and “belongs to everybody.”
When Margaret talks to God, she reveals what she really thinks about her day. Margaret took issue with some of Nancy’s behavior—but she shows here that regardless, she still wants to be mature enough to compete with Nancy. She also articulates more about her relationship with God. Mom’s view that God “belongs to everybody” suggests that Margaret’s family doesn’t think that one religion has a monopoly on God. At the same time, by keeping her relationship with God to herself, Margaret implies that her parents might find it strange that she addresses God personally.
Themes
