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Chapter 21
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in One Day, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Relationships and Time
Social Class
Coming of Age and the Search for Meaning
Addiction and Recovery
Summary
Analysis
Saturday, July 15, 2006. Dexter closes his café up for the day. He has finally moved to a new house. He started seeing Maddy about two months ago and kisses her goodbye. Dexter is still unsure about the relationship, which feels too practical, but people seem to think he and Maddy get along well. When Dexter gets home, he makes some phone calls, including to Emma’s parents, his sister, his father, Sylvie, and Jasmine. He keeps things brief and light-hearted to reassure everyone he’s fine. Then he calls Ian. Dexter can tell Ian is busy with his kids, so Dexter ends the call quickly. He expects to never hear form Ian again, which is fine.
Dexter’s relationship with Emma seemed to be fated, with each subsequent July 15 bringing their lives together in new ways. But Dexter’s ability to form a new relationship with Maddy after Emma’s death challenges the idea of fated or perfect relationships, suggesting that perhaps relationships that arise in more casual circumstances, like working together in a café for a few years, can also be worth pursuing, even if they also come with uncertainty. This chapter suggests that Dexter has begun to move beyond Emma’s death, even if it still deeply affects him.
Themes
As Dexter eats dinner alone, he suddenly has the urge to drink. He calls Maddy instead. She offers to come over, but he says he just needed some reassurance for the moment and still wants to be alone. He goes over to the last of Emma’s possessions in his flat, which have been sorted into boxes to throw away, send to her parents, or keep for himself. Among her things, he’s surprised to find a nude photo of her that he remembers taking in France. Although the photo was beautiful, she took it from him, and he assumed she destroyed it. Dexter keeps going through Emma’s things and finds more ephemera, including photos from graduation day. He sees one they took that day on Arthur’s Seat.
Dexter wanted to be a photographer, and the beautiful picture he has of Emma is a reminder not just of her, but also of Dexter’s past ambitions. The fact that she kept the photo, though she claimed not to like it, suggests that perhaps he was right all along about his eye for photography and could have pursued it more seriously if he’d had the determination. Once again, Dexter’s interest in photography shows how he is interested in capturing and preserving the past.
Themes
Back on that day on Arthur’s Seat, Dexter feels self-conscious when he reaches the summit and wonders if it was a good idea to come with Emma. They share champagne together but mostly just talk about the view and the weather. Emma notes that this St. Swithin’s Day doesn’t have any rain. Dexter asks her how she feels about the previous night. She says fine, but she’s embarrassed about some of the corny things she said. She says it’s a shame the timing of them meeting isn’t better.
The first night that Dexter and Emma spend together goes on to have an almost mythical importance to each of them in setting a trajectory for their relationship. But as this passage shows, it was still a time of uncertainty, which both Dexter and Emma feeling embarrassed and hesitant around each other, not knowing what their future had in store.
Themes
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Emma gives a short speech about how she thinks Dexter is great but how it would probably be best for them both if he just moves on and travels abroad as he plans to do. They can still be friends, but they don’t have to make an effort to stay in touch. Dexter agrees. Still, Emma wants to take a photo of the occasion in case Dexter is ever famous. They smile and take the picture.
By this point in the novel, it’s clear that things didn’t work out the way that Emma’s speech here claimed they would, with her and Dexter just remaining good friends. The photograph that she and Dexter take together is a reminder of how the promises and ambition of youth can change as one transitions into adulthood.
Themes
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