Mystic River

Chapter 15 examines the different faces of grief as well as significant characterization for the main characters. Celeste’s observations of Jimmy and Annabeth reveal their generous and resilient natures. In describing how Annabeth crossed burned bridges to comfort Celeste over the loss of her mother—who hadn’t been very kind to either—Celeste demonstrates how significant family is to Annabeth and how grief has the potential to unite. Furthermore, grief looks differently to everyone; while Celeste needed to weep and be comforted, she acknowledges Annabeth’s need to keep busy (196). Celeste is connected to everyone here in a way that no one else is—by being family to Annabeth and Jimmy and a wife to Dave—and can see them more clearly than they see each other. She recognizes the face of Annabeth’s grief, the surprising tenderness of Jimmy, and the aura of isolation that envelops Dave because she is the only one perfectly situated to do so. As she looks over at Dave, she discerns his slightly stiff posture for what it is: “the everlasting, air of the foreign that seemed to hover around him sometimes, particularly in this crowd” (196). This demonstrates Celeste’s shrewd eye but also Dave’s inability to merge with those around him; Dave emits an anxiety over being seen by “people who’d known him his whole life” (196) because—as Celeste unwittingly implies—their knowledge of his abduction makes him vulnerable.

The chapter shifts its focus back to grief through Theo and Jimmy’s conversation. Theo’s hardened and self-satisfied philosophy disallows Jimmy his time to grieve; under the guise of advising Jimmy to maintain his status as patriarch, Theo invalidates Jimmy’s right to feel in a time of immense pain. By describing grief as an indulgence, Theo embodies a toxic form of masculinity that actively works to suppress emotions to maintain a visibly authoritative domestic role. This begins the novel’s examination of the toxic effects of emotional suppression in relation to traditional masculinity. The chapter concludes this consideration as Jimmy’s grief takes its form in rage. This shifts the tone of the novel, alluding to the dangerous path Jimmy could take if he does not reach the next stage in a healthy way.

The psychological effects of trauma and the lasting impression of childhood friendships are demonstrated through Dave’s interactions with Sean and Jimmy in Chapter 16. The chapter also continues to show Dave’s mysterious behavior that may associate him with Katie’s death. First, Dave’s immediate tension around the cops and unsettling comment about the town needing crime act as a reminder that there is something dark within Dave. This darkness, though, is clearly attributed to his childhood. Revealing that the “Boy Who Escaped from Wolves” still lives inside of him demonstrates the psychological effects of his childhood trauma as stunting his emotional development and continuing to affect his adult life: “Usually, Dave could control him, but sometimes, the Boy scared him” (213). To process what happened to him as a child, Dave has created a separate self. This type of psychological strain makes Dave vulnerable; his manner of dealing with this is taking a physical, emotional, and mental toll.

Chapter 17 offers a review of what the investigators—and readers—know about Katie’s death. As part of the crime and mystery genre, the novel’s slow working through of the evidence and theories contributes to building the psychological suspense. The information revealed in the chapter also paints a more complete picture of Katie’s final moments. The theories posited—that it couldn’t have been a professional hit, that someone may have been waiting for her outside the bar, that someone else had been attacked at the same bar she’d been in, and, perhaps most significantly, that Katie may have been pursued by more than one attacker—all work to obscure the solution and increase tension. The mystery surrounding Katie’s death is finally articulated by Whitey, who claims that their investigation has so far revealed that Katie’s murder “benefitted no one” (233). This observation, though serving a narrative function in continuing to conceal the truth of Katie’s death, conveys the novel’s overarching question of who benefits from violence and why. The novel’s examination of violence, gentrification, and grief work to answer this question.