Blue Sisters

The lives of the three sisters finally converge when they all arrive in New York City and stay at the apartment together. Because this apartment was their childhood home, this convergence represents a chance for them to return to the formative roots of their family dynamic and potentially achieve healing. However, the sisters do not initially come to New York with the intention of undergoing Self-Discovery Through Sisterhood. Lucky only comes to New York because she is running away from the unsettling experiences of London and her frustrations with Avery. Although she is increasingly aware that she is not living in a way that would make Nicky proud, she has no conscious intention to change. Lucky is a complex character because she is both self-aware and defiant. She can recognize certain harsh truths for herself, but she quickly becomes angry and resentful when someone else (especially Avery) voices them. For example, when Avery reacts eagerly to the news that Lucky is trying to get sober, Lucky backpedals and claims “it’s not like that. I’m just taking a break” (227). Lucky’s discomfort with using the label of sobriety or recovery reflects her discomfort with claiming her addiction. For her, Overcoming Addiction will require being honest about the problem.

Avery likewise only comes to New York because her marriage and life in London are imploding. When Chiti confronts Avery over the evidence of her infidelity, Avery is forced to face the consequences of her reckless behavior. Avery shows up in New York emotionally devastated, but still unwilling to be open and transparent with her sisters. She thinks bitterly that “she was in the middle of destroying her marriage and she couldn’t tell anyone because she was the eldest, and therefore exemplary” (224). The lack of readiness to mend their relationship is evidenced by the lack of honesty between the sisters: Avery doesn’t tell her sisters about the crisis in her marriage, and Bonnie and Lucky don’t explain that Lucky has been going through withdrawal under Bonnie’s supervision. The sisters struggle to see that they can only achieve closeness through vulnerability and openness. Prior to Avery’s arrival, Bonnie and Lucky deepen their relationship when Bonnie confesses her feelings for Pavel. The sisters feel connected to one another when they share the truths of their lives and emotions, and they feel alienated when they conceal those truths. Avery’s deception is particularly destructive because Lucky actually does know about the problems in Avery and Chiti’s marriage. Because Lucky knows that Avery is lying, she is particularly hurt and offended; she eventually challengers her older sister, stating that “you’re a liar. I see you, Avery. Hypocrite” (229).

The lack of authenticity between the sisters leads to conflict rather than healing. The conflict that erupts while they are cleaning out Nicky’s closet shows that the intensity of familial bonds can lead to pain as well as love. Each of the sisters knows how to hurt the others, and they say harsh and wounding things to one another. For example, Avery calls Lucky “a fucked-up addict” (229). While the conflict is painful for them, it is also cathartic. None of the sisters have been coping effectively with their grief and pain, mostly because they have been repressing or denying it. As a family unit, they can safely let out this pain; they can also trust that they are all equally devastated. While the conflict is ugly, it is also honest. The blunt and angry confrontation between the sisters develops the theme of Self-Discovery Through Sisterhood because it forces each woman to confront realities that she would prefer to run away from.