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Chapter 15
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Erasure, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Race and Identity
Familial Obligation vs. Personal Needs
Artistic Integrity vs. Commercial Success
Authenticity
Summary
Analysis
Monk laments the poorly edited submissions he reads, noting how overly long and bloated some of the novels are. He enjoys some of them, and he even reluctantly admits that some are better than anything he could have written. Later, he and the judges gather for their first conference to discuss submissions. Two judges suggest that they shortlist books written by colleagues. Monk suggests they wait until all the submissions come in before making any decisions.
Monk’s experience judging the book submissions simultaneously reaffirms his own skill and humbles him. In the comfort of his own home, beyond reach of the industry that wishes to limit his artistry to an expression of his racial identity, he can be the person of diverse interests and expertise he wants to be—he can be more than his race, both as a critic and as a person.
Themes
Christmas comes and goes, and Mother’s health continues to deteriorate. Monk learns that Fuck will be released early “because of the great interest.” Then he receives a padded envelope in the mail that January with a bound galley of Fuck and a request that it be considered for The Book Award. Now he’s in a real pickle: he won’t admit to being Stagg R. Leigh, and yet he can’t disqualify himself from judging it without revealing his dual identity. He decides to ignore the problem, assuming that none of the judges would deign to take the book seriously.
The renewed sense of validation that Monk’s participation on the committee for The Book Award gave him comes to a halt with the request for Fuck to be considered for the award. At once, Monk is reminded of the artifice of the publishing industry, its marginalization of Black writers, and his own complicity in that marginalization. Tension mounts as the reader (and Monk) waits to see whether the committee will choose to consider Fuck or reject it.
Themes
Meanwhile, Monk self-isolates, ignoring letters he receives from students, colleagues, and potential employers. One day, he sits in the study and imagines a hypothetical reading given by Stagg Leigh. Stagg wears baggy pants and a black silk shirt. A young white woman from the Friends of the Book Society introduces him. Some older white women sit in the front row, appearing nervous. Stagg takes the stage and loudly exclaims, “Fuck!” Then he segues into the reading. Later (in reality), Kenya Dunston selects Fuck for her book club. Unfortunately for Monk, this means Stagg Leigh must appear on the Kenya Dunston Show to plug the book.
Monk’s self-isolation reflects the anxiety he feels as he waits to see whether the other committee members will accept or pass on Fuck as a submission for The Book Award. Meanwhile, his appearance on the Kenya Dunston Show forces him deeper down the hole he began to dig himself into when he first decided to perform the role of Stagg Leigh rather than own up to his authorship of My Pafology/Fuck. Monk has repeatedly had the chance to give up the performance and come clean, but he perpetuates it anyway—and why? Does he really think that Stagg R. Leigh is a work of performance art he has created to make a point to the publishing industry? Or does he realize that performing the role of Stagg will earn him more money in the long run?
Themes
Monk—and Stagg Leigh—travel to New York, Monk for his meeting with The Book Award judges, and Stagg for his appearance on the Kenya Dunston Show. At the committee meeting, Monk and the other judges discuss the books they’ve read. Ailene Hoover asks if any of them have read Fuck yet, and everyone except Sigmarsen says they have. Those who’ve read it (minus Monk) agree that it will at least make their top-20 list. Monk feels sick to his stomach.
Monk’s failure to come clean about his authorship of Fuck has gotten him into a hole he can no longer dig himself out of—the judges’ practically unanimous approval of Fuck means that it will be likely be considered for The Book Award.
Themes
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The next day, Monk takes a cab to the address of Tilly McFadden’s apartment. A shirtless, tattooed white man (the skinhead) opens the door. The man is unfriendly, and Monk notes a crucifix next to a swastika on the wall. When Monk tells the man he’s looking for Tilly, the man says she’s dead. Gretchen is still alive, though. Monk tells the man that Gretchen is apparently his half-sister. In response, the man (using a racial slur) says he knew Gretchen was part Black. Monk offers to pay the man to take him to Gretchen’s house, and the man eventually agrees.
Monk’s unpleasant interaction with the skinhead reinforces the reality that even if Monk himself rejects the concept of race, racism still affects him on a personal and systemic level. Ironically, his complicity in that system enables him to fare well in it: he is able pay the skinhead to do his bidding due to the influx of expendable cash he has from accepting the publishing house’s advance for My Pafology.
Themes
Monk follows the man (the skinhead) several blocks over to a different brownstone. He hands the man cash, and then the man walks away. Monk rings the bell for Gretchen Hanley’s apartment. After a pause, the door buzzes, and Gretchen—his half-sister—lets him inside. The apartment is small and disheveled, and Monk discerns that the woman isn’t doing well. A baby sits in the corner. Monk introduces himself to Gretchen and explains that he’s her half-brother. Gretchen tells him the baby is her granddaughter whom she watches while her daughter works. Then when Gretchen’s daughter returns, Gretchen goes to work. That’s how it is every day. She asks Monk what he does for work, and Monk tells her he’s a writer. “How wonderful,” Gretchen replies coldly.
Monk’s father did not uphold his obligation to support Gretchen, and as a result, she has not had the life of opportunity and privilege that Monk and his siblings had. Monk’s uncomfortable meeting with Gretchen further challenges Monk’s previous assumptions about his father. It also adds nuance and complexity to the novel’s examination of race and privilege. Gretchen may be passably white, but her poverty has held her back where Monk’s relative wealth has allowed him to circumvent some of the roadblocks that systemic racism would otherwise throw his way.
Themes
Monk dislikes Gretchen, but he understands her bitterness. He hands her the letter their father wrote but never sent to her. He explains that their father wanted to be in Gretchen’s life but couldn’t find her. Gretchen replies simply that Monk found her, and Monk can offer nothing in response to this. Impulsively, Monk takes out his checkbook and writes Gretchen a check for $100,000. He claims their father wanted her to have it. Gretchen asks Monk if he thinks the money will make everything better. He says he doesn’t think so, then he leaves.
Gretchen notes how easily Monk found her to point out that their father’s abandonment of her was not involuntary. In fact, Monk’s father could have fulfilled his obligation to help Gretchen and her mother—he simply chose not to.
Themes
