High Fidelity

Laura Lydon breaks up with Rob, and the impact of her departure forces him to deal with the mistakes of his past. Laura is a complexly-drawn character in her own right, and her romantic frustrations relate to the way in which her life has progressed. Once, Laura was an aspiring, dedicated legal aid who wanted to help the poor and unfortunate by providing them with legal services in times of need. However, the changing job market meant that Laura could not find work as a legal aid and had to take a job at a high paying law firm. Laura was forced to mature quickly, so her new life makes her unwilling to tolerate Rob’s inability to grow up. Whereas Rob is the same depressing, negative person he was when they first met, Laura has grown into someone else. She has new clothes, new friends, and wealth. As a result, she is not willing to deal with the old Rob.

Laura leaves Rob for Ian, but doing so helps her realize how much she valued Rob. The death of her father has a big impact on her life, and she decides that she can work with the man she loves to improve him rather than deal with people like Ian. Laura reunites with Rob on her own terms, coming back to him when she decides that he is capable of change. She helps his business, introduces him to new people, and brings about Rob’s growth as a character. In many ways, Rob becomes a way for Laura to perform the charity work she misses from her youth. Rob is too introverted and narcissistic to help himself, so she provides the aid and assistance he needs. In turn, repairing Rob and the relationship satisfy Laura’s needs, allowing her to help others while enjoying a happier, more rewarding relationship. 

Marie LaSalle is the American singer who spends a night with Rob in the aftermath of his breakup with Laura. To Rob, she seems like a foreign, exotic, beautiful alternative to the familiar Laura. Marie is interesting; she is a musician, and—most importantly—she is not Laura, so Rob is immediately attracted to her. In the night they spend together, he is given a glimpse into a different kind of world, one which he has dreamed about for many years. With Rob as the narrator, Marie is only ever presented through the lens of his fascination with her. At first, she is the beautiful singer who spends the night with him. Then, she is an example of his self-loathing, showing how he can be given everything he has ever wanted and still find a way to be unhappy.

Although the night Rob spends with Marie is unsatisfying, he learns to appreciate her in a way he does not appreciate most women. Marie is blunt and practical in her outlook and her language, to the point where Rob is disarmed. Because Marie is so different from Rob, and because she can view sex as a physical act rather than an emotional investment and a precursor to heartbreak, she provides Rob with a different way to look at the world. After their night together, they remain friends. For the first time, Rob can keep in touch with a former sexual partner and not have his mind obsess over her. Marie is an important part of Rob’s life, not so much for the time they spent together but for the way in which they are able to remain apart. 

Ian is a former neighbor of Rob and Laura who provides Laura with an escape from her failing relationship. Laura leaves Rob and stays with Ian, meaning that Rob’s narration casts Ian as the novel’s antagonist. Ian is less a character and more a conduit for all of Rob’s dislikes. Rob sees Ian as a pretentious, annoying, and successful fool with terrible taste in music. In many ways, Rob sees Ian as the opposite of himself, meaning that he emphasizes Ian’s negative qualities to make himself feel better. However, this has an undesirable effect once Rob begins to think about Ian and Laura together. If Laura left Rob for Ian, Rob worries, then she must value him over her. The qualities which he dislikes about Ian become criticisms of Rob himself. Rob the narrator uses Ian to provide a reflection of Rob the character, showing how Rob’s obsessiveness and negativity can drive Laura into the arms of a completely different character such as Ian.

Ian disappears from the novel once Laura decides that she does not like him. Ultimately, Ian is only a temporary reprieve from the crushing negativity which Laura experienced in her relationship with Rob. She would rather work with Rob to repair their relationship than spend another night with Ian. Given how much Laura hated Rob at the point she left him, her desire to return to Rob is a damning indictment of Ian. In the novel, Ian’s function is to provide a viable alternative for Laura, showing her that another kind of relationship is possible. By the end of the story, Ian’s abhorrent personality only teaches Laura to value Rob more, and Ian is cast aside without a second thought. 

Barry is a loud, obnoxious employee at Rob’s record store. He is frustrated by his life. Unlike Rob and Dick, Barry never achieves any romantic success during the novel. While he is interested in the romantic lives of others, no woman seems to be interested in Barry. He is also frustrated by the way in which he consumes music. Although he is every bit as obsessive as Rob and Dick, Barry wants to be a musician. A sign has been hung in the store for years, seeking other musicians to form a band. Barry wants to become an active participant in the music world rather than a passive consumer. These frustrations mount, to the point where Barry takes out his anger on others. He bullies Dick and the customers of the store, while also actively antagonizing Rob. Barry is tolerated by the other characters more than he is liked.

Barry deals with his frustration by forming a band. The group play their first concert at the end of the novel, surprising everyone with their talent. After the performance, Rob talks to Barry and compliments his singing ability. Barry seems genuinely happy for the first time, reflecting the way in which he has wrested control of his life and becomes an active musician rather than a passive listener. However, a lingering irony of Barry’s satisfaction is that his band performs cover songs. Much like Rob and his mixtapes, Barry’s musical expression relies on other people’s ideas. For all of Barry’s progress and satisfaction, he still expresses his emotions through other people, rather than his own words.