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Chapter 22
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in One Day, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Relationships and Time
Social Class
Coming of Age and the Search for Meaning
Addiction and Recovery
Summary
Analysis
Sunday, July 15, 2007. Jasmine wakes Dexter up by pressing his nose like a doorbell. Maddy is also in bed with them. They’re at a hotel in Edinburgh, where Dexter hasn’t been for many years. Dexter plans to show Jasmine around the town, and Maddy agrees to let them go alone.
Dexter’s return to Edinburgh—where his relationship with Emma all started—shows that he is ready to face his past and deal with Emma’s death in a way that he has sometimes avoided on previous anniversaries of it.
Themes
Dexter takes Jasmine first to the flat where Emma used to live. He then takes her to climb Arthur’s Peak, but he’s dismayed to find that even at her young age of seven, she has more energy to climb than he does. They find a place to overlook the city. Jasmine asks if Dexter misses Emma, and he says he does—every day. Jasmine thinks she misses Emma too, though she only remembers her a little. It’s a beautiful day, though Jasmine gets bored after a few minutes, so they leave.
Dexter’s lack of energy compared to his daughter, Jasmine, reflects the toll that life has taken on him as well as perhaps specifically the effect that smoking has had on his lungs. By contrast, Jasmine’s energy represents hope for the future and the promise that a new generation will one day grow up just like Dexter and Emma did.
Themes
Back in 1988, leaving Arthur’s Seat, Dexter and Emma prepare to part ways, potentially for good. Dexter invites Emma for a drink, trying to figure out a plan to meet his parents late for dinner. He leads her back toward his flat, but they hurry toward it, they suddenly hear Dexter’s mother calling his name. Dexter instantly pulls away from Emma and goes to greet his mother and father in their Jaguar. They’re impatient to get to dinner but say that Dexter can invite his friend Emma if he likes. Emma makes up an excuse not to join, and she and Dexter each wish each other a nice life. Dexter’s mother says she hopes she isn’t interrupting anything and notices that Dexter is wearing the same clothes as yesterday.
By ending in 1988, the novel has a circular structure and ultimately emphasizes the joy of relationships rather than the tragedy. This passage captures how close Dexter and Emma came to never having a future together. If Dexter had left without giving Emma his contact information, they might not have stayed in touch. While Dexter may have avoided the heartbreak of Emma’s death, the joy of these last few passages argues that it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
Themes
Still in 1988, Emma walks home disappointed. She tries to think of what she wants to do with her future. She’s heard the advice to live every day like your last but doesn’t think it’s very practical. Suddenly, Dexter rushes up behind her. He says he just remembered he forgot to ask about how to get in touch with her. He asks to borrow a pen, and they exchange addresses and phone numbers. He invites her to come visit him at his parents’ house once he returns from his travels.
Although the idea that one should live every day like their last seemed impractical to Emma back in 1988, eventually it really was her last day. The novel doesn’t necessarily contradict young Emma’s belief that it’s impossible to live every day to the fullest, but it does argue that mortality pushes a person to live their life intentionally, as Emma learned to do.
Themes
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Still in 1988, Dexter asks if Emma is sure she doesn’t want to come to dinner. He seems relieved when she insists on not going, saying that it’s probably for the best because he’d just want to kiss her the whole time. They kiss on the street. Then they say goodbye, and Dexter leaves.
The novel ends with Dexter and Emma kissing, in a moment that simultaneously signals the beginning of their relationship but is also significant as a goodbye kiss, foreshadowing how things will end for them. The kiss, like the novel as a whole, shows how people have a need for connection and find meaning in pursuing it, even though close relationships invariably come with challenges and the potential for heartbreak.
Themes
