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September 2005
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Still Alice, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Ambition and Success
Loss of Identity
Illness, Marriage, and Family
Alzheimer’s, Quality of Life, and Happiness
Summary
Analysis
Alice sits next to “the woman” and watches “medium children” hurriedly walk to their destinations. Alice, however, doesn’t need to go anywhere and this makes her feel “lucky.” The woman tells Alice that Lydia will be home soon and so they should head back. Alice doesn’t want to leave, but the woman is leaving, and Alice knows “she should stay with her.”
Alice no longer questions who she is with or why she is doing what she is doing, but simply follows what simple directions she does know: she knows she should stay with this woman, and so she stays with her without questioning why.
Themes
When they get to the house, Alice notices two cars and the woman tells her, “They’re both here.” This makes Alice excited, and she hurries inside to see “the mother.” The woman tells the mother that Alice had “another good day” with no wandering. A baby cries and the mother walks into another room and then comes back out holding a baby. The mother thanks Carole (who is “the woman”), and Carole calls out a goodbye to Lydia, who’s in another room, as she leaves.
Carole says that Alice has had “another” good day, implying that there have been other days that were not good. Carole also mentions that Alice has not wandered, which also means that Alice has developed a habit of wandering off and now needs to be watched like a child. Although Alice doesn’t recognize Anna or Lydia, her excitement at seeing their cars by her house means she still feels connected with them and is happy when she gets to see them. This means the love she has for them is still a part of her, as she hoped it would be.
Themes
Alice looks at the baby and smiles at him. The baby smiles at her “in recognition” and “the mother” asks Alice if she will hold him. Alice enjoys playing with this baby and patiently allows him to play with her hair and face. He finds her butterfly necklace and starts playing with that, too.
The reappearance of the butterfly necklace comes at a time that highlights how much beauty Alice is still able to find in her life: she is enjoying holding and playing with her grandson. She’s experiencing real happiness even though there was a time when she believed there was no way she could really experience happiness in the later stages of Alzheimer’s.
Themes
Alice walks into the room where “the mother” is and spots “the actress,” who asks Alice to listen to her “do this monologue” and then tell her how it makes her feel. Alice agrees and watches “the actress’s” eyes and listens to the way her voice changes volume as she goes on. She creates “an energy” that moves Alice to tears as she kisses the baby. “The actress” asks Alice what she feels and Alice says she feels “love.” “The actress” is excited and, when Alice asks if she got it right, tells her that she “got it exactly right.”
Alice recognizes that the monologue Lydia is rehearsing is about love. This would further imply that Alice is able to feel love despite losing so many of her other mental faculties—otherwise she would not have recognized the emotion. Alice once told Lydia to remember, in case Alice herself couldn’t, that she loves her. Her ability to identify love sends the message to Lydia that, even though she no longer recognizes her, Alice still feels that love for her.
Themes
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