It Happened One Summer

“There’s just nothing to you, okay? There are thousands of Piper Bellingers in this city.”

Adrian says this while breaking up with Piper, suggesting that she is replaceable and uninteresting. His remark makes Piper question her worth and begins her character journey of self-discovery. Her response to this remark, to make herself distinctive by throwing a rooftop party, is the inciting incident for the plot of the novel.

“You are twenty-eight years old, Piper, and you have done nothing with your life. Nothing. You’ve been afforded every opportunity, given anything your little heart could ask for, and all you have to show for it is a…a digital existence. It means nothing.”

Daniel’s lecture after Piper is caught breaking into the Mondrian Hotel compounds Piper’s concern that she has no value. This speech sets up the novel’s theme of appearance versus reality, suggesting that Piper’s image is not real and has no substance. Showing Daniel that she can accomplish something is part of Piper’s motivation for restoring her father’s bar.

“Their job is dangerous and they don’t care how much it scares you, they go back to the sea every time. They’ll always choose it over a woman. And they’d rather die doing what they love than be safe at home.”

Piper’s mother, Maureen, warns her about the men of Westport with an assessment that reflects her experience with Henry, Piper’s father, giving Piper insight into her past. This warning foreshadows Piper’s meeting and falling in love with Brendan. Maureen’s statement sets up the ocean as a symbolic rival, capable of providing thrills a lover cannot.