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Chapter 16: January 19, 2001
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in We Need to Talk About Kevin, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Guilt and Accountability
Marriage, Family, and Social Norms
Nature vs. Nurture
Idealism vs. Reality
Forgiveness and Empathy
Summary
Analysis
Eva starts initiating sex with Franklin more frequently and stops using birth control, but she doesn’t again broach the topic of having another child. Franklin is happy about this new development—the couple’s sex life dropped off after Kevin was born. Eva gets pregnant a year later but doesn’t tell Franklin. After a few months, Franklin realizes that she’s pregnant. He is angry—he thinks Eva is being selfish and that another baby won’t be good for Kevin. Eva is 45 at this point, and Franklin makes her promise to get “that test.” Eva says she gets the test, but she doesn’t. Eva knows she might give birth to a child with a disability, but she wants to try to trust herself to love it.
Eva’s decision to get pregnant without telling her husband is selfish. She doesn’t seem to care how a new baby will affect Franklin or Kevin, and she’s unconcerned about the consequences of having a disabled child even though her age means she’d have a high-risk pregnancy. Franklin alludes to a test that screens for Down’s syndrome. When Eva was pregnant with Kevin, she was the one who wanted to get the test, and Franklin didn’t.
Themes
Eva considers this pregnancy more hers than Franklin’s, and she treats her body however she wants. She occasionally has small glasses of wine. Eva thinks she and Franklin should tell Kevin about sex. Eva explains sex to Kevin, and he responds that he already knew everything about it. Eva reports to Franklin that Kevin is “unimpressed” by sex, and she doesn’t know what will ever impress him. Eva tells Kevin that he will soon have a new sibling. Kevin is not happy about the news, and Eva says that he will get used to it. Kevin responds that getting used to something isn’t the same as liking it—for example, he says, Eva is used to Kevin. Eva agrees. Kevin tells Eva that she will regret having another child.
Eva continues to act with complete disregard for her family. Drinking increases the risk of complication for her already high-risk pregnancy, so Eva’s choice to drink suggests a lack of concern about the wellbeing of her unborn child. Eva seems to feel justified in admitting to Kevin that she doesn’t like him, but this is really another example of emotional neglect. Kevin being “unimpressed” by sex again mirrors Eva’s own constant boredom. His threat about the new baby foreshadows heinous behavior that Kevin will later exhibit.
Themes
The Gulf War has just started, and the violence seems to entice Kevin. Eva tries to talk to Franklin about what to name the new baby, but he doesn’t care. Eva chooses Frank for a boy and Celia for a girl, after Franklin’s late aunt. Eva’s second birth is much easier than her first. While in labor, Eva perceives Celia’s aura as a light blue, whereas Kevin’s was a bright red. Celia is born two weeks early, and she takes to breastfeeding easily. It is immediately obvious how different she is from Kevin. The clear difference seems to anger Franklin. Eva perceives Franklin’s aversion to Celia as a fear of betraying his son.
As Kevin gets older, he becomes more interested in violence. This is alarming, but neither Eva nor Franklin address the issue. Though Eva’s selfishness as a parent is more obvious, Franklin’s refusal to address Kevin’s problems is also detrimental to Kevin’s development. Eva wanting to name the baby Frank seems to reflect her desire to deflect responsibility for this child’s eventual personality away from herself and toward Franklin.
Themes
When Franklin and Eva introduce Kevin to the new baby, Kevin seems bored. He says that younger sisters are annoying, and Franklin confirms. Franklin tells Kevin that he has a younger sister who used to annoy him because she only wanted to play with girly toys. Franklin’s outward belief in gender roles annoys Eva. Kevin drips water on the baby’s face and watches her visible discomfort with interest.
Franklin’s comment reiterates his belief in gender roles. It also devalues hobbies and traits that mainstream American culture associates with girls and femininity. Franklin and Eva’s values regarding gender and family are so different that they greatly interfere with the couple’s ability to raise children. Indeed, one might argue that Kevin has learned to disregard his mother and sister from watching Franklin disregard Eva. Tellingly, Kevin tries to bother his sister the very first time he interacts with her. This detail also shows that he is becoming more interested in violence and suffering.
Themes
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