Chapter 22: The Present

Eliz­a­beth returns home and ques­tions her daugh­ter, Made­line, about her day, only to learn from a note that Madeline’s teacher, Mrs. Mud­ford, wants to meet. Elizabeth’s inter­ac­tion with her col­league, Miss Frask, at Per­son­nel unveils an inquiry into an investor, reveal­ing the secre­tive nature of wealthy clien­tele. Despite Elizabeth’s antic­i­pa­tion of detailed infor­ma­tion, Frask fails to uncov­er any­thing sig­nif­i­cant about the investor, hint­ing at his poten­tial dis­in­ter­est in fur­ther involve­ment. The con­ver­sa­tion soon shifts to Frask’s per­son­al predicament—she’s been ter­mi­nat­ed for fail­ing to meet a self-imposed weight loss goal, high­light­ing a stark and famil­iar work­place injus­tice.

Elizabeth’s evening begins with a casu­al inter­ro­ga­tion of Madeline’s school day, jux­ta­posed against her mun­dane inter­ac­tion with Har­ri­et, reveal­ing the monot­o­ny and chal­lenges of her dai­ly life. The nar­ra­tive then tran­si­tions to Elizabeth’s pro­fes­sion­al envi­ron­ment, offer­ing a glimpse into the bureau­crat­ic and imper­son­al nature of cor­po­rate setups through her engage­ment with Miss Frask. This exchange not only reveals Frask’s immi­nent job loss but also sub­tly cri­tiques the lack of work­place pri­va­cy and the harsh­ness of cor­po­rate cul­ture.

The chap­ter oscil­lates between Elizabeth’s roles as a moth­er and a pro­fes­sion­al, with her inter­ac­tions with Made­line and Miss Frask bring­ing to light Elizabeth’s inher­ent opti­mism and naivety. Her dis­be­lief at Frask’s fir­ing over weight gain con­trasts sharply with the cold real­i­ty of the cor­po­rate world, under­scor­ing her ide­al­ism in the face of prag­mat­ic, and some­times unjust, soci­etal norms.

In essence, this chap­ter serves as a com­men­tary on the blend­ing of Elizabeth’s per­son­al and pro­fes­sion­al chal­lenges, high­light­ing her unwa­ver­ing resolve and inno­cence amidst adver­si­ty.