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Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in On Beauty, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Nature of Beauty
Politics in Academia
Race and Identity
The Value of Family
Summary
Analysis
One day, Kiki sits just outside her kitchen, even though the wind is blowing fiercely. Zora asks what she’s doing, which makes Kiki realizes that she’s cold. Kiki asks Zora where everybody else is, and Zora says she doesn’t know: she thinks that Howard is asleep and that Levi hasn’t been back since work the previous morning.
This scene once again shows how much the Belseys fail to communicate even when they’re in the same house—Zora doesn’t know where anyone else in the family is. The fact that no one worries about Levi being gone suggests that they are used to him going off on his own and have accepted his absence.
Themes
Kiki says she might go see Carlene again. Zora seems reluctant about this. She eventually mentions that Monty has been writing more negative pieces about Howard, claiming that Howard is trying to limit Monty’s right to free speech. Monty is also continuing to criticize affirmative action and possibly even trying to get Howard fired. Kiki has heard about the article but doesn’t think things are all that serious.
Zora thinks on a more abstract, political level like Howard, while Kiki thinks on a more personal, practical level—that is why Zora opposes Kiki seeing Carlene, but Carlene wants to go anyway. Because Zora values the academic world so much, she sees Monty’s article as serious, while Kiki’s disconnect from that world lets her dismiss it as a harmless dispute.
Themes
Zora mentions that she’s going on a field trip soon for Claire’s class. Zora isn’t thrilled about the class but says she needs a “name” like Claire on her résumé for grad school. Kiki asks if Zora ever saw Carl again, (since Claire sometimes goes to the Bus Stop, the place where Carl performs spoken word), and Zora mentions seeing Carl about a week ago but doesn’t mention that it was at the pool.
Zora reveals that she was never particularly interested in poetry in the first place and only wanted to join Claire’s class for the prestige. Carl remains a source of embarrassment for Zora, perhaps in part because he reminds her of a time when she accidentally revealed her prejudice (when she accused him of stealing her CD player when in fact, she stole his). Like Howard, Zora is haunted by past mistakes, even small ones, that point out her hypocrisy.
Themes
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The fact that nobody realized Levi was home shows once again how distant Levi is from his family.
Themes
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Kiki says Levi needs to start preparing for his SATs, but Levi complains he already has plans with his new friends to go to the Bus Stop the next Tuesday. Zora doesn’t like this because she will also be at the Bus Stop with her class that Tuesday. Kiki tells Levi he can go to the event as long as he and Zora go together and come back by 11:00 p.m. Zora complains but has to accept Kiki’s conditions.
Levi and Zora are each looking for something different at the Bus Stop. For Levi, it promises the type of streetwise authenticity that Carl represents to him. For Zora, however, it’s the opposite, providing her a change to raise her standing in the book-smart academic world where Claire is an important name. Their conflicting goals once again bring up questions of identity and show how a place like the Bus Stop can represent multiple types of identity.
Themes
Howard walks into the room, and suddenly Kiki can see all his flaws clearly. He asks if there’s anywhere he and Kiki could have a conversation. Kiki resists, and she gets angry when Howard starts using academic language with her. What she’s most angry about is that Howard looked Kiki in the eyes and lied about having a one-night stand instead of the truth: he had a three-week affair with Claire.
Kiki has been repressing much of her criticism of Howard for the sake of her marriage, but as she comes to terms with his affair, she becomes more comfortable with acknowledging Howard’s flaws. For Kiki, the most hurtful part is the way she can no longer trust Howard to be honest with her.
Themes
Kiki asks Howard why he had sex with Claire, but he struggles to give her a straight answer. When Kiki says that she feels out of place being surrounded by small white women like Claire, Howard accuses her of being “hysterical.” Kiki says Claire looks like a leprechaun next to Kiki, but Howard replies that Kiki was a lot smaller and slimmer when he married her, which angers Kiki.
“Hysterical” is a loaded word, sometimes considered misogynistic because it is more frequently used against women (often to dismiss legitimate concerns, as Howard does here). Additionally, the word “hysterical” is particularly relevant for author Zadie Smith—in a negative review of Smith’s first book, White Teeth, the critic James Wood described Smith’s work as “hysterical realism” (meaning that it combined realism with absurd characters or plots).
Themes
Howard says “physicality” was one reason for his affair with Claire, but Kiki thinks he’s still holding back the truth. Howard tries to justify his actions by explaining the theory of how men react to beauty, but Kiki tells him she’s heard enough of his theories. Howard says at least Claire is older than him instead of a student. Kiki ignores him and leaves the room, slamming the door shut behind her.
This passage goes back to the title of the book, showing how beauty means something different to Howard and Kiki. Howard’s attempts to justify his actions with theory come across as absurd, particularly for someone like Kiki who isn’t as deeply invested in the world of art history as Howard. Howard’s claim that at least he didn’t have sex with a student is darkly humorous, perhaps making fun of other campus novels (where professor–student affairs are a common plot element) while also foreshadowing yet another way in which Howard will fail to live up to his abstract ideals.
Themes
