The Heart Goes Last

Charmaine is the other protagonist in the novel, and where Stan reflects some of the worst impulses of toxic masculinity, she matches him with her conservative femininity. Her appearance is childlike, innocent, and as Stan describes, as if she is in a “retro cookie ad.” She enjoys homemaking, hardly ever swears, and while she has sex with Stan, she has “never been much of a joiner” (106).

However, the image she projects masks her repressed sexuality, and she often dreams of being a different person and living a different life. Her encounter with Max allows her to create this different version of herself, which turns it into a full-fledged affair that takes over her life. Like Stan, she also has very little agency throughout the story. However, while she is used as a pawn in Jocelyn’s plot to bring down the Positron Project, she does demonstrate the will for self-determination: She chooses to start and continue the affair with Max, and later, chooses to kill Stan as an act of self-preservation—the fact she is being tricked and coerced does not change the fact that when faced with the illusion of choice, she actually makes one. The other major aspect to Charmaine’s character is that she is “really good at believing” (296). Jocelyn takes advantage of this to manipulate her, but it is also evident in her willingness to accept the Positron Project’s lies about her job as Chief Medications Administrator and in her seemingly relentless optimism.

These things are all connected, reflecting the way Charmaine denies reality to avoid accepting something unpleasant or uncomfortable. It is an attitude that can be traced back to her traumatic childhood, which the novel suggests through broken memory fragments. During that time, her Grandma Win taught her to ignore the bad and instead focus on whatever is good (like eating popcorn or looking at flowers). The impact of these lessons is evident in the fact that, in times of struggle, she still returns to the aphorisms and phrases that Grandma Win used to say.

Jocelyn is Ed’s second-in-command and runs security and surveillance in Consilience. She is described in the text long before her role is revealed, as both Stan and Charmaine notice her at different times. She is muscular, does not wear makeup, has a squarish jaw, and generally wears a black suit. Her appearance stands out in Consilience, as everyone else that is allowed in is aggressively hetero- and gender-normative, presumably to fit in with the ’50s aesthetic of the town (and to further imply the oppressive nature of the project).

However, this divergence reflects her agency throughout the novel: She not only has the most control and self-determination, but also actively seeks to bring the project down. Like the rest of the characters in the novel, her motivations and goals are ambiguous at best. While she does initiate the downfall of the Positron Project after becoming uncomfortable with its increasingly unethical methods, she remains as self-interested as everyone else and ensures that none of the higher-ups responsible for the project face legal consequences because that would include her too. On the other hand, in a novel where all the other women are largely treated as sex objects and denied agency, she goes out of her way to give Charmaine an opportunity to actually choose what her life will be.

Phil (who goes by Max for most of the novel), is Jocelyn’s serially adulterous husband. He approaches Charmaine on a switchover day and initiates their affair, which is later revealed to be part of Jocelyn’s plan. To Charmaine, he is everything she desires: passionate, sultry, commanding, and—most importantly—a blank slate. Since they know so little about one another, she can both project her desires onto him and be a completely different version of herself—one that is not confined by the rigid roles and expectations she has built up over the years with Stan.

For Stan, who believes Max is the husband of Jasmine, he is everything Stan is not. He sees Max as an attractive alpha male who not only has command over his life, but is sexually satisfied in a way that he can never be with Charmaine. In this way, Phil/Max exists more as an idea for Stan and Charmaine to project onto than an actual character. In a gender reversal of the traditional fairy-tale style ending, Phil is forced to spend a “happily ever after” with Aurora after he is promised to her by Jocelyn for all her help.

Ed is the CEO of the Positron Project and reflects the most unethical and vampiric tendencies of the corporate world. His wealth protects him from experiencing the same hardships as everyday working people after the financial crash and he uses their destitution as a recruitment tool to further increase his individual profits.

When appearing in commercials or town hall broadcasts in Consilience, he appears friendly, calm, confident, and encourages everyone to call him by his first name. He attempts to exude an air of inclusivity and caring, often pontificating on the importance of human liberties and the need to bring America back to its golden age. This image (however transparent) is in stark contrast to the person he is behind closed doors. In meetings with his investors, he gleefully explains how much money they will make off a newly developed procedure that takes a “hot babe who won’t come across for you” and neurosurgically forces her to “[think] you’re the sexiest hunk she’s ever seen” (578). This is just one among several grossly unethical ways Ed seeks continual growth and profit.

Despite his projected confidence, he so fears rejection that he is incapable of telling Charmaine he is interested in her. This conflicts with his desire for power and his need to be in control, so he has a replica possibilibot created in her likeness without her knowledge or consent. In this way, he embodies some of the most harmful tendencies of toxic masculinity.