Emma,

3rd Level Reading

By: Atharva
Infidelity
On page 53, Carolyn Cole makes a reference to the theme of infidelity. She does this by
making the character of Ruby Robinson tell Emma that her husband, Jack is a ‘player’. By
labelling the character of Jack York as a player, Carolyn Cole introduces the theme of
infidelity, which is when a member of a couple violates their marriage by cheating on this
partner. However, up to this point in the story, the readers aren’t sure whether Jack is really a
player or not. It is very likely that Carolyn Cole intended to make the audience realize that
the percentage of men and women involved in infidelity is relatively larger than that of the
20th century, as the modern society is more accepting towards this action. Carolyn Cole later
confirms the fact that Jack York is cheating on Emma on page 56, where Dorian and Maria
see Jack hug and kiss the lady at the train station. By doing so Carolyn Cole not only
provides the readers with entertainment, but she also intends to educate the audience about
how important love, trust and values are within a family.

Friendship
The theme of friendship is first introduced by Carolyn Cole on page 48, where the friendship
between Dorian and Maria is established. We know that the relationship between Dorian and
Maria is very healthy, because they are just two little girls who fancy dinners, parties, fancy
jewelry and dresses. We know this because Carolyn Cole writes this on page 48. We also
learn that whenever Dorian and Maria fight, their argument only lasts for a little while, and
then they start being friendly with one another again. An example of this is on page 49,
where Dorian says:” sometimes, Maria would squeeze her arm so tight that she thought that
it was going to break…...I knew she wouldn’t break it…. She’s my best friend in the whole
world”. Based on Dorian’s statement, we can infer that whenever the two girls argue, it gets
resolved very quickly. The theme of friendship is also further developed on page 53, where
Mrs. Robinson provokes Emma by calling her husband a ‘player’. This is an example of a
toxic friendship, in which the relationship between Ruby and Emma isn’t very healthy. By
looking at the similarities and differences of these two friendships, we can see that Carolyn
Cole has created a contrast between the two friendships, making it very clear that the
friendship in between the little girls is much more loving and caring than the one which
exists between the adults. It is very likely that Cole did this because she wanted the audience
to know that friendship is all about giving love, rather than expressing jealousy.
Family
Carolyn Cole has two types of families in this short story. The first type of family is the
nuclear family, and the second type of family is the single-parent family. Dorian’s family is
the nuclear family, and Maria’s family is the single-parent family. Carolyn Cole portrays
Dorian’s family as dysfunctional, but only to a certain extent. The reason why this family
could be dysfunctional is because Dorian’s father doesn’t give consideration to his daughter,
Dorian. We know this because on page 51, Dorian says “Daddy never came into my room
unless it was to get mommy”. This tells us that Dorian doesn’t have a very close association
with her father, because her father doesn’t even bother entering her room to greet her.
However, this family isn’t completely dysfunctional, because Dorian’s mom (Emma) does
have a close association with Dory. We know this because Emma is always doing some
activity with Dory, such as playing cards (page 50) and taking her out for some shopping
(page 52). This makes Dorian feel loved and comfortable.
On the other hand, it is very clear that Maria’s family is completely dysfunctional because
Mrs. Robinson does not commit herself to take proper care of Maria, and as a result Maria
herself doesn’t look up to her mother. We know this because on page 52, Maria and Emma
get into a fight, because neither of them wants to be Mrs. Robinson in their grown-up game.
This tells us that Mrs. Robinson isn’t liked by either of the girls and as a result, Maria
doesn’t fancy her. We also know that Maria is in a single-parent family, because on page 54,
she revels that her husband, Frank left her. This add onto Maria’s loneliness, hence making
Maria’s family as dysfunctional.