The Keeper of Happy Endings

The chapter picks up where Soline’s story with Rory left off: She arrives in Newport, Rhode Island. She is met at the train station by the Purcell family’s driver and is taken to their palatial home. Soline is tired and gaunt from her long journey, with only her dress box and the clothes that she’s wearing as her possessions. Anson’s father, Owen Purcell, is a cold and inhospitable man who treats Soline with a cool disregard. She meets Anson’s younger sister, Thia, who tells Soline that her father calls her “Anson’s little French seamstress” (199). Unlike her father, Thia is warm, innocent, and desperately wants to be friends. She reminds Soline of Anson. Soline’s room is in the opposite wing of the home, where guests stay. They share a chilly meal together and Owen insults Soline’s volunteer work at the hospital, insinuating that she was involved in inappropriate relationships with the men and implying that she preyed on Anson.

In the weeks following her arrival, things remain unchanged with Owen as he is civil but largely ignores Soline. She grows close to Thia, teaching her French and bonding over their shared loved of drawing and