55 pages • 1 hour read
Kristina McMorrisSold on a Monday
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 41-43Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 41 Summary
Ellis knows that the Millstones have both the resources and the connections to take Ruby, but he thinks that they would not risk betraying Max. But when Ellis goes into the Millstone’s home, he enters a volatile scene. Sylvia is upset, her fingers cut and stroking a broken picture frame. So, when Sylvia yells for Ruby, Ellis knows he can no longer wait for Max; Sylvia is ready to leave. Alfred tells Ellis to wait outside because Sylvia is upset. But Sylvia is losing control: She is accusing Albert of wanting Victoria out of the way; of making Sylvia take the blame for the accident because he had been drinking. Alfred is upset because Victoria’s death was an accident. Sylvia yells for Claire to bring Ruby.
When Ruby arrives, Sylvia calls her Victoria and tells her they are returning to California. But Ellis steps in and Ruby runs to Geraldine, who has followed Ellis in. Sylvia then aims a gun at Geraldine. Alfred tries to get the gun when Sylvia yells that no one is taking her daughter from her. When Sylvia then cocks the gun, Ellis runs for it and in the fight, “a red-hot poker pierced his side” (315). The last thing Ellis hears is a scream and a second shot that wounds Geraldine.
Chapter 42 Summary
Outside the guarded hospital, Lily finds it ironic that the press want every detail for the story, including every link to Max. When the detective arrives, he asks Lily how it all started. She tells him, “It started with a picture” (318).
The doctor asks the families of Ellis and Geraldine to come for an update. Lily’s mother is with the children. Lily told them not to come when she called them, but when she saw her mother and Samuel, she was relieved. The doctor announces that Ellis and Geraldine will recover. As the children are celebrating, Clayton arrives.
Clayton does not understand why Lily put her life in jeopardy. She explains that she meant to tell him about it. She also tells him about her column. His surprise is genuine because she has never shared her ambitions with him. She apologizes for her dishonesty. Clayton realizes that she will not be moving to Chicago. Clayton kisses her then leaves.
Lily tells her mother about the breakup, expecting her to be disappointed. But Lily’s mother only wants her to do what she is “meant to,” and admits that they have only ever wanted “great things” for her (325).
Chapter 43 Summary
Ellis awakes in the hospital, with bits and pieces of the last day’s events slowly becoming clear. His parents are by his side. Jim notes that Ellis had quite the week. And while he expected his son to sort it out, he did not expect him to end up “looking like a science experiment” (327). Lily arrives, sees his parents, and tries to leave. But Myrna makes excuses and Ellis’s parents leave.
Lily asks if he heard about Geraldine. He has and agrees that Sylvia should be placed in an asylum. Lily informs him that his charges were dropped and Ellis hopes his bank account clears up too. Ellis will likely get an exclusive for his story, and he tells Lily he would chose her to report it. Ellis selfishly hopes that it means he can keep close to Lily, although he knows that she will be leaving for Chicago.
Lily then confesses that she is no longer leaving. In a year, she tells Ellis, she will be able to move with Samuel to an apartment near a park if her column is a success. Lily realizes she is using the word “we” and that Ellis might misunderstand her meaning. But he says, “It’s a perfect plan,” then kisses her (331). Samuel enters the room to bring Ellis a gift. When he places it on the bed, Ellis guesses correctly that it is a rabbit, telling Lily it is Samuel’s favorite animal. When Samuel asks if Ellis will be okay, Lily says yes in a tone that implies they all will.
Chapters 41-43 Analysis
The story ends with the reconfiguration and reconciliation of families, each of which endured tremendous loss and strife. For the Millstones, their family is torn apart. They not only no longer have children, and likely will never again, they no longer have each other. Alfred hoped that he and Sylvia could be enough for each other, but Sylvia could not let go of her grief and was willing to go to extreme lengths to keep her family together, even if her family was an allusion. Haunted by the past, Sylvia allowed this grief to destroy their future.
For Ellis and Lily, they come to terms with the choices they have each made and in the process find one another and likely go on to form their own family. Ellis and his father reconcile, his mother has made peace in the family, and Ellis has won his father’s respect. Both men successfully move on from their troubled past and agree to appreciate their family unit in the present. For Lily, she blossomed into a fine reporter and someone who can live out in the open with her son rather than hiding in shame because of her choice, or in fear that society (or God) will punish her for having wavered.
For Ruby, Calvin, and Geraldine, they were able to be a family again. The children were pulled from the clutches of abusers in a time period when many children were sold and then exploited as labor. They were saved from that fate because Ellis overcame his own ambition to get ahead, and in the end relied on the morals of his own family upbringing to do the right thing; and because Lily was determined that the Dillard children would be wanted, well-treated, and raised by their own mother.
