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Chapter 20
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in It Ends with Us, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Cycles of Abuse
Naked Truths
Good and Evil
Chosen Family
Summary
Analysis
Almost a month later, Lily is at the floral shop closing up for the night. Allysa has left for maternity leave while she waits for the baby to arrive. Lily has hired her old roommate Lucy and a new employee, Serena. Alone in her office, Lily considers all the differences she sees between Ryle and her father. Sometimes she has to reassure herself that she made the right decision in forgiving Ryle, but she is convinced that she will never turn into her mother, nor Ryle into her father.
Lily chose to stay with Ryle, but it seems even a month later she is haunted by a feeling in her gut that she is repeating her parent’s abusive cycle in her own marriage. Logically, however, she is able overcome her doubts by assessing all the ways she differs from her mother and Ryle differs from her father.
Themes
The week before, they’d gotten into another fight. Ryle applied for a three-month post-residency course in Cambridge, and after that, he was considering taking a position in Minnesota at the best neurological hospital in the country. Lily had pushed back on Minnesota, wanting to stay close to her mother, support Allysa and the baby, and keep her store running. The flight escalated when Ryle broke a vase in frustration. Instead of going further, however, he decided to leave for a couple hours to calm down. He returned when his emotions were under control, and they mutually decided to stay in Boston.
Part of what encourages Lily about her decision to forgive Ryle is the progress she sees him making. His violent impulses are clearly still present, but—with her help—he is attempting to recognize them and act before he hurts Lily. Mention of Allysa and the baby also serves as a reminder that Lily’s relationship with Ryle is intertwined with her friendship with Allysa. Having Allysa in her life is not the main reason that Lily stays with Ryle, but it does hold significant sway.
Themes
Lily drives to Allysa’s after receiving a text asking for help picking out furniture. On the door of the apartment, she finds a note telling her to go to an apartment on the floor below. When she knocks on the door, she is confused to find Ryle there. At first, she thinks he may have been hiding a second apartment this whole time. He explains that he signed the paperwork to buy it this morning so they can have more space and be closer to their new niece. Lily is shocked into silence by how huge and nice the space is. Ryle is afraid she’s mad at him, but she reassures him that it’s perfect, even if he should have included her in the decision.
Though Ryle’s decision to buy the apartment without her input concerns Lily initially, she takes the gesture—and the way it will improve their lives—as a sign that they are continuing to move in the right direction. What Lily wants most is a comfortable, loving life with her husband, her best friend, and her new niece; these are the things that make working through Ryle’s abusive episodes worth it to Lily, and she believes this new apartment will help facilitate those things.
Themes
As they tour the apartment, Lily is overwhelmed with excitement about how beautiful the apartment is. As a bonus, she now gets to be closer to Allysa. When Ryle shows her the patio where she can start a garden, she falls fully in love with their new home. Lily asks how they can afford it, and Ryle reminds her that he makes plenty of money as neurosurgeon. Soon, Allysa and Marshall come downstairs to celebrate, and the four of them eat Chinese food while planning how they’ll decorate the space.
In the apartment, Lily sees the life she has dreamed of coming together, a life that wouldn’t be possible without Ryle. To build this life with him, she must take all of him, in good times and in bad. The garden she plans to plant at their new home symbolizes the way Lily hopes their efforts to understand and support each other will prove fruitful in the long run.
Themes
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