Free Food for Millionaires

In this section of the novel, Charles’s rape of Leah complicates the theme of Giving in to Compulsions Despite Consequences by situating his assault within the reality of multiple power inequities. Leah’s subplot takes a dark turn as her innocent crush on Charles culminates in trauma when Charles rapes her. Leah is left deeply confused by these events because she did feel attraction to Charles; when he first began kissing her, “what Leah felt was a kind of desire, and the feeling itself was strange” (414). However, she begs Charles to stop shortly after and feels intense distress once the rape is over, such that “it would have been a relief if someone shot her dead” (416). Because of the third-person narration, readers have access to Charles’s inner world during the encounter as well: Charles is presented less as a villain than as a fundamentally deluded and arrogant man. The power he has always enjoyed in society has allowed him to indulge his compulsive behavior without consequences—at least, without consequences that he can perceive. Before he rapes her, Charles presumes to know Leah’s experiences and history, concluding that “the lives of Korean women, in his view, were far too narrowly circumscribed” (412). Charles arrogantly imagines himself as a kind of savior figure who will liberate Leah and introduce her to sexual pleasure.

Charles’s delusions continue after the sexual encounter; he blithely assumes that Leah is happy about what happened and even begins to imagine a future for them together: “[H]e loved her. It made sense that she was frightened, but he believed that she loved him, too” (416). While Charles’s misguided beliefs in no way exculpate him, the episode is another example of how Lee uses third-person narration to add complexity and illustrate how the inability to understand the perspective of others, which differences in power often exacerbates, can lead to tragedy. Readers can see how opposed Leah and Charles’s perspectives are, yet neither has access to the other’s thoughts and feelings. It is unclear whether Charles’s actions would have changed if he knew that Leah was truly repulsed and terrified.

While Charles and Leah fundamentally misunderstand each other, Ella and David’s developing relationship is enhanced by their mutual vulnerability and honesty. Their developing relationship similarly adds depth to the theme of Tension Alongside Class Mobility: Even Ella, a model upper-class figure, has suffered due to the tension of sustaining that image. In her new relationship, one in which her partner is interested exclusively in her rather than in her projected class status, Ella can begin rebuilding her expectations of a relationship. Ella confides to David about carrying the herpes virus; she is somewhat afraid and embarrassed, but Ella’s growth as a character emerges in her acceptance of the situation. While Ella waits for David’s response, she reflects that, “it was a disease, but it wasn’t as if she were going to die, and if he didn’t want to be with her anymore, then she would understand” (423). While the primary plot focuses on Casey’s maturation and psychological development, Ella experiences her own arc of character development, growing from a timid and sheltered girl into a much more confident woman. As a result of becoming a mother and navigating the collapse of her marriage, Ella becomes more resilient, and she is able to be honest with David. David, in turn, responds to Ella’s honesty with acceptance and tenderness, providing a model of a healthy partnership.

Meanwhile, Ted has to grapple with the true cost of his relationship with Delia when he realizes that his mother will never accept the relationship and will always resent Ted for ending his marriage to Ella. Ted reflects grimly that “everything he had ever done in his life that might have been good was canceled out by his divorce, by his falling in love with Delia” (435). Nonetheless, Ted refuses to give up Delia; like many other characters, Ted eventually experiences greater self-awareness as a result of making mistakes. In addition to tying into Lee’s exploration of tensions surrounding class mobility, Ted’s character arc provides some nuance within the theme of Creativity and the Value of Beauty. He comes to embrace the concept of true love as a powerful emotional experience whose beauty can dislodge his more concrete desires and social fears. Ted causes significant pain to others, but he does come to know himself better as a result and can eventually conclude that “love was more important to him than he’d thought” (432). Earlier in the novel, when Casey watched her family reject Jay, she was able to see that Jay was not truly the right partner for her. When faced with his own family’s displeasure, Ted comes to the opposite conclusion, prioritizing his romantic relationship over his family of origin. These two opposite outcomes show that there are no easy answers as to how best to navigate complicated questions of love and loyalty.