Grace’s Growth Through Her Tragedy

Korelitz describes the stages of Grace’s growth through her tragedy in order to demonstrate the process of grief and prove to the reader that even people who have made mistakes can find a new place for themselves. Grace moves through several of the accepted stages of grief — denial, anger, depression, and acceptance — as she tries to deal with Jonathan’s infidelity and his decision to murder his lover. Even though Grace believes she is at fault for what happened and should somehow feel guilty for her role in it all, she comes to realize that she acted no differently than anyone else in her situation might have, and that she has nothing to feel guilty about.

Even when Grace begins to have the feeling that something is seriously not right with Jonathan’s disappearance, she remains in denial that he...