One Italian Summer

At the beginning of the novel, Katy appears disheveled and uneasy about how to live her own life, which is emphasized by her desire to divorce Eric. She does not trust that she has made the right decisions in her life and begins to question her current life path. This constitutes the primary conflict in the novel, and Serle uses this conflict to drive the arc of the novel. Now that Carol, who has taken care of her daughter well into adulthood, has passed away, Katy feels as though time is slipping away from her. Katy is forced to reevaluate her life and embark on a journey of self-discovery as she must now define her own identity as almost entirely separate from her mother. She refers to herself as her “mother’s daughter” (28), through which Serle makes her at first almost synonymous with Carol. Deciding to go to Positano alone, Katy, at first, feels guilty about leaving Eric behind and unsure of how to make decisions on her own. However, as her solo trip unravels, she slowly becomes surer of herself and confident in her decisions, such as pursuing her desire for Adam. Katy’s character arc establishes the theme of