Inventing the Abbotts by Sue Miller
"Inventing the Abbotts" by Sue Miller explores the lives of two brothers, Doug and Jacey, growing up in the small town of Haley, Illinois. The narrative follows their teenage years marked by the contrasts between their modest upbringing and the affluent lifestyle of the Abbott family, whose daughters become objects of admiration and desire for the brothers. The story delves into themes of social class, familial relationships, and the complexities of young love as Jacey pursues romantic interests in the Abbott sisters. Doug, while less impressed by the Abbotts, grapples with the impact of their wealth on his brother and their family dynamics. The brothers' experiences culminate in a return to Haley following their mother’s death, where they confront their past and the realities of their relationships with the Abbott family. Through the lens of domestic realism, the novel examines the brothers' personal growth and the disillusionment that often accompanies the pursuit of social status. The narrative captures the intricate emotional landscape of adolescence and the lasting effects of family and community ties.
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Inventing the Abbotts by Sue Miller
First published: 1987
Type of plot: Domestic realism
Time of work: The twentieth century
Locale: Haley, Illinois, and Cambridge, Massachusetts
Principal Characters:
Doug , the narratorJacey , his brotherTheir mother , a widow and schoolteacherGrandma Vetter , the boys' grandmotherEleanor Abbott , ,Alice Abbott , andPamela Abbott , sisters in a well-to-do familyJoan Abbott , their mother
The Story
Doug, the narrator of "Inventing the Abbotts," is the younger of two brothers. The story begins when the brothers are teenagers in Haley, Illinois, and ends with their return to that town when their mother dies. Growing up as the sons of a widowed schoolteacher, each brother yearns in his own way for the wealth and secure social position enjoyed by the Abbott family.
Lloyd and Joan Abbott have made their daughters the center of the town's social life by hosting several elaborate parties a year for them. Because the parties are held in colorful tents in the Abbotts' yard near the center of town, everyone knows when one is being set up, and there is much talk about who has and has not been invited.
Jacey, the older brother, is impressed by the Abbotts and by what their wealth represents to him. Doug, after watching his brother worry over his invitations to the Abbotts' parties, refuses to take the parties seriously. He sometimes attends without responding to the invitation, and once he goes to a party with Elvis-like sideburns drawn on his cheeks with ink.
Jacey is attracted to the Abbott family because of the economic and social differences between the two families. The brothers' father was killed in the war when Jacey was young and a few months before Doug was born. Their mother moved to Haley where her mother, Grandma Vetter, lived. Grandma Vetter helped raise the boys until her sudden death when Doug was ten.
Jacey's interest in the Abbott family takes the form of his romantic pursuit of the Abbott sisters. The summer before Jacey leaves for college, Doug walks in on him and Eleanor, the middle sister, naked together. Later, Eleanor drops out of school and leaves her family. In rebellion against the family, she tells her parents she has been sleeping with Jacey, knowing they will be offended, especially because he is not from a wealthy family.
A few years later, Jacey falls in love with Alice Abbott, the oldest of the sisters. Alice has been married and separated. She and her two children have moved back to her parents' home. The secret romance continues for two summers, then Alice's parents learn about it and tell her to cut it off. She is not independent enough to say no.
The following fall in Cambridge, where both brothers and Pamela Abbott are college students, Jacey invites Doug to his apartment. Pamela arrives, and Jacey is very rude to her, asking her if she wants to go to bed with him.
A few weeks later, Jacey apologizes to Doug. He explains that Pamela sought him out. The two of them got drunk while Pamela told him about how unhappy she was with her controlling parents. Jacey says he had an affair with her even though he did not particularly like her. He wanted to close off the possibility that he would see Alice again. Feeling Pamela was using him as part of a family drama, he was cruel to her and invited her and Doug over at the same time to intentionally embarrass her.
After graduation, Doug moves to New York, where he sees Pamela occasionally; in his last conversation with her, he tells her that Jacey has gotten married. Pamela makes insulting remarks about Jacey's wanting to marry up. Having realized that the Abbotts are not as wealthy as he once thought and having seen how the sisters have treated Jacey, Doug questions why she thinks marrying an Abbott would be marrying up.
After their mother dies of cancer, Doug and Jacey encounter Mrs. Abbott on the street in Haley. Instead of sympathizing about their mother's death, she comments that she has no more daughters for Jacey. Jacey does not react but instead acts immediately afterward as if her comment were something that had been said years ago when he was a child; he has grown up at last.