48 pages • 1 hour read
Casey McQuistonThe Pairing (The Proposition, #3)
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Theo Flowerday
Theo Flowerday is one of the novel’s two protagonists and narrators. She has a tall build, “orange-blond” hair (178), a “wide mouth” (18), and a “slightly oversized nose” (18). As Theo embraces her nonbinary identity and lets go of feminine beauty standards, she learns to love her strong, androgynous features. McQuiston characterizes Theo as a determined, skillful, and hardworking individual as demonstrated by the freelance business she builds on her own and her refusal to rely on her family’s reputation or wealth. However, as those closest to Theo point out, her misconception that she must succeed on her own sometimes leads her to “get in [her] own way” (181) with risk-averse and self-sabotaging behaviors. Over the course of the culinary tour, the round, dynamic character learns to be less cautious and to place more trust in herself. Theo struggles with insecurities but eventually emerges as a confident and daring protagonist.
Theo’s character arc makes key contributions to the romantic comedy’s plot, themes, and genre. The decisions that Theo makes in The Pursuit of Pleasure, such as embarking on a decadent culinary tour and agreeing to the hookup competition, drive much of the action. Another of the novel’s major themes is The Journey Toward Self-Acceptance. Theo grows in self-knowledge and self-love by embracing her nonbinary identity, a realization she makes during the four years between Chapters 2 and Chapter 3. She also advances the theme by facing her fear of failure and building self-efficacy. As she observes in Chapter 20, the culinary tour gives her opportunities to grow: “There were so many things I didn’t even know I was capable of until I was doing them. And I never would’ve known if I hadn’t come” (386). These experiences make a lasting difference in how Theo views herself and give her the courage to start a new life and a new restaurant with Kit in France at the end of the novel. Theo develops the theme of Second Chances in Love by resolving her feelings of anger and jealousy toward Kit, and her narration builds up the story’s romance: “There’s never been another person who could fill Kit’s place, and I know there never will be” (123). Even before Theo and Kit confess their feelings to one another, passages like this give the reader hope for a happy ending. Over the course of the story, Theo heals not only her relationship with Kit but also her relationship with herself.
Kit Fairfield
Kit Fairfield is the other half of the romance’s central couple, and he serves as the novel’s second narrator and second protagonist. Theo offers the following description of Kit’s appearance when she sees him for the first time since the breakup: “He has the same architectural cheekbones and curious eyebrows, the same soft mouth, the same lash-fringed brown eyes with that familiar flung-open brightness they’ve held since we were kids” (18). Her observations highlight the physical and inner beauty that capture her heart. McQuiston portrays Kit as a flirtatious charmer who “accidentally makes people fall in love with him” (35) wherever he goes, but he sincerely cares about others and “loves to make people feel good” (3). The art history major and professional pastry chef is a creative soul whose hands are “always stained [...] with ink or food dye or watercolor pigment” (15). His love of art feeds his sense of wonder and his romantic attitude toward life. McQuiston portrays Kit as a kind, creative dreamer with a deep appreciation for love and beauty.
In his roles as protagonist and narrator, Kit advances the novel’s action, romance, and overall meaning. Like Theo, he is a dynamic character who gains valuable lessons about himself and makes major life changes over the course of the story. Theo associates Kit with “a pure, wholehearted eagerness to be amazed” (64), but the monotony of his tasks in a five-star hotel’s pastry kitchen dull this quality. Going on the culinary tour and reuniting with Theo revives his sense of wonder, and he ultimately leaves his prestigious job to pursue his own creative vision. Additionally, Kit’s actions are vital to the plot and the theme of Second Chances in Love. The “greatest regret of [his] life” is planning a new life for him and Theo without involving her, the well-intentioned mistake that led to their separation (303). Even as Kit attempts to preserve their newly reestablished friendship, he accidentally admits his true feelings: “You are brilliant, and magnetic, and strong, and impressive and—and vital, and I cannot keep listening to you talk about someone I love like this” (287). Passionate moments like this add to the novel’s suspense and romance. Kit offers an encouraging example of pursuing one’s dreams and believing in love against the odds.
Fabrizio
Fabrizio serves as the main characters’ guide on their culinary tour of Europe. When Theo first sees him, she is struck by how “outrageously good-looking” he is and describes his “dark hair waving over the nape of his neck” and his “coarse stubble across his defined jaw artfully blending into the hair at his open collar” (13). The Neapolitan’s swoon-worthy appearance, mononym, and “romance-novel voice” are reminiscent of Fabio (19), an Italian actor and model who appeared on hundreds of romance covers in the 1980s and 1990s. Fabrizio’s flirtatious personality adds to the novel’s playful, romantic atmosphere. McQuiston uses this character to subvert the protagonists’ and reader’s expectations. In Chapter 18, Theo and Kit think that he has invited them to his apartment for a tryst only to learn that he is happily married. Further lampshading generic tropes, the bus driver explains that this is a common misconception: “‘You wouldn’t believe how many people finish this tour thinking they could have slept with Fabrizio if they’d had the opportunity,’ Orla goes on. ‘I reckon we could sell T-shirts. Nearly Fucked Fabs: The European Tour’” (344). McQuiston uses Fabrizio’s character to play with romantic tropes, adding another layer of humor to the romantic comedy.
Fabrizio develops the theme of Second Chances in Love through his own marriage and the encouragement he gives Theo and Kit. The jovial, welcoming guide turns a collection of strangers from around the world into a group of friends in a few weeks’ time. His ability to quickly build rapport with people positions him to give Kit advice during a crucial moment. In Chapter 18, Kit’s reluctance to confess his feelings for Theo threatens the couple’s second chance at love. The author gives Fabrizio and his wife a similar love story, allowing him to counsel Kit based on his personal experience: “It was not for me to protect her from my heart. It was only for me to let her see it and decide if she will keep it” (347). His motivational words to Kit represent his most important contribution to the novel’s plot and themes. Fabrizio’s encouragement of Theo and Kit’s relationship makes him a dependable friend to the main characters and a key supporting character.
Sloane Flowerday
Sloane Flowerday is Theo’s younger sister. She has naturally strawberry blond hair and a “pretty [...] heart-shaped face” (404). Sloane’s elegant appearance suits her status as a successful film star. The talented young woman takes pride in her hard work and achievements, and she reminds Theo of this when Theo suggests that her success may stem from their parents’ status as renowned directors: “I studied. I did Shakespeare. I fucking did workshops, and I am very expensive, and directors want to work with me” (180). Although Sloane and Theo sometimes argue, she is a vital source of support to Theo, especially after the breakup. Sloane and Kit were also friends, but she “stopped speaking to him and his siblings out of loyalty to” Theo (33). At the end of the novel, Sloane once again demonstrates her dependable, generous nature by investing in Field Day.
Although Sloane doesn’t appear in person until the Epilogue, she has a significant influence on Theo’s character arc. McQuiston emphasizes the siblings’ bond when Theo describes Sloane as “the most important person in [her] life” in Chapter 5 (76). This closeness enables Sloane to share difficult truths with Theo, such as when she points out that Theo has a pattern of making her “life harder on purpose” because of the “nepotism chip on [her] shoulder” (180). Eventually, Theo takes these words to heart and allows Sloane to facilitate the novel’s happy ending by becoming an investor for her restaurant. Sloane’s emotional and financial support enables the main characters to start a new life together.
Craig Fairfield
Craig Fairfield is Kit’s father. In Chapter 17, Theo and Kit see a “sixty-something with a scruffy beard and a vague resemblance to Victor Garber, writing in a notebook with an expensive-looking fountain pen” (324), who closely resembles him. The notebook and fountain pen connect to Craig’s career as a ghostwriter for best-selling novelists. Kit describes his father as the “most prolific author no one’s ever heard of” (160), conveying his paradoxical success and anonymity. Craig uses his profession to excuse his self-centered behavior and emotional unavailability, most notably when he “stayed in his office with a manuscript that couldn’t be delayed” while his three children grieved the sudden loss of their mother (160). Although Craig and Kit share positive attributes, such as creativity, the man’s selfishness explains why Kit worries that he may have also inherited his father’s faults.
Craig contributes to Kit’s backstory and inner conflict. His impulsive decision to move his family to New York after his wife’s death is the reason Theo and Kit were separated for some of their teenage years. This time apart is one of the reasons why it takes the main characters until they are 22 to confess their feelings the first time. Craig also exacerbates his son’s anxiety about giving love a second chance. The kind-hearted Kit agonizes over the question of whether he should confess his feelings for Theo because he fears that he shares his father’s pattern of chasing his own dreams “without regard for how it will affect the people he loves or if they even want the same thing” (325). Although Kit overcomes this fear with Fabrizio’s help, it temporarily threatens the couple’s happy ending. By opening Field Day, Kit once again makes a conscious decision not to follow in his father’s footsteps. While Craig may be content writing books that are published with other people’s names on the covers, Kit stops toiling in someone else’s kitchen and pursues his own creative vision. Craig influences his son’s characterization and motivates Kit to think carefully about the kind of life he wants to lead.
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