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Chapter 1, Section 6
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Moviegoer, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Value Systems
Women, Love, and Sex
Modern Life and the Search for Meaning
Loss, Suffering, and Death
Summary
Analysis
Kate and Binx end up going out that evening after all. They’re sitting in an oyster bar. Kate tells Binx she can’t marry Walter. She also admits that she wasn’t being truthful earlier; she’s feeling very bad today. When Binx offers to call Merle (Kate’s doctor), she says they should try “the other” instead. “The other” refers to a coping strategy wherein Kate acts like a small child, withdrawn and shy, and Binx mostly ignores her. Kate gazes around the restaurant open-mouthed.
Binx has a natural way with Kate, sensing how to help her through her difficult moments without (as Aunt Emily does) making a big deal of it. She also appears to be more honest with him about how she’s really feeling, establishing that the two of them have a more realistic connection than either of them does with other partners. Kate’s past trauma seems to have stunted her emotionally.
Themes
After dark, Binx and Kate catch part of the parade downtown. Soon a vanguard of robed, flame-bearing figures come down the street, followed by rumbling floats. Children climb ladders to watch. Maskers toss treats to them. When the krewe captain appears on horseback, Binx asks Kate if she wants to see Walter, and she says no, so they leave. They head to the movies.
Seeing Walter, even costumed for the iconic Mardi Gras parade, is upsetting to Kate; the festive atmosphere seems to mock her struggle. Though going to the movies is often a form of escapism, for Binx and Kate it feels more realistic than the gaiety of Carnival.
Themes
They watch a movie called Panic in the Streets, which was filmed in New Orleans. In her own way, Kate understands Binx’s moviegoing. When a scene shows the very neighborhood which contains the theater, Kate gives Binx a knowing look. After the movie, she says the neighborhood is now “certified.” “Certification” is Binx’s concept for what happens when a place becomes “Somewhere” and not just “Anywhere.” If a person lived in this neighborhood forever, it would appear empty to him, but if he saw it in the movie, he could feel, at least briefly, that he lived Somewhere.
For Binx, movies are a way of connecting with the significance of people and places. They help turn anonymous “Anywheres” into meaningful “Somewheres.” This is what Binx means by “certification,” which is an aspect of his search. In this way, moviegoing is Binx’s way of seeking deeper meaning in life, not escaping from it. Such an intentional search can be more genuine than the forced gaiety of watching a parade.
Themes
Though Kate sounds a little better, Binx knows she isn’t—she’s just playing a role, this time being his “buddy.” In Kate’s suffering, even their friendship gets transformed, like everything else in Kate’s life, to horror.
Like Binx after his brother’s death, Kate sometimes assumes a particular role to help her cope with grief. Because she hasn’t grieved freely, Kate’s grief consumes everything else in her life.
Themes
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