# XI explained — Alice Adams

> Chapter companion for Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington.

## What happens

Alice reflects on her mother's persistent obsession with a glue factory formula that could supposedly make the family wealthy, while also grappling with her own self-deception and the lies she tells Arthur Russell to create a false image of herself. After a tense kitchen conversation with her mother about the glue factory and family sacrifices, Alice retreats to her room, where she practices expressions in the mirror and questions her own identity. Walter teases her at dinner about her flirtation with Arthur Russell, and Mrs. Adams continues to lament the family's financial struggles.

## Themes in this chapter

### Ambition and Disappointment

Mrs. Adams's relentless pursuit of the glue factory fortune contrasts with Virgil's refusal, highlighting the family's thwarted ambitions and resulting disappointment.

### Illusion and Self-Deception

Alice practices false expressions and lies to Arthur Russell, then questions her own identity, embodying the theme of self-deception and the gap between appearance and reality.

### Family Dynamics and Sacrifice

Mrs. Adams's emotional plea about sacrificing for her children and the tension between her and Virgil over the glue factory illustrate complex family dynamics and sacrifice.

## Character check-ins

### Alice Adams

Alice confronts her mother about the glue factory obsession, practices false expressions in the mirror, and questions her own identity and lies to Arthur Russell.

### Mrs. Adams

Mrs. Adams defends her fixation on the glue factory formula, expresses her sacrifices for her children, and weeps over the family's financial limitations.

### Virgil Adams

Virgil is mentioned as having been enraged by the glue factory topic, having fallen ill after a Sunday rampage, and is now upstairs during the conversation.

### Walter Adams

Walter teases Alice at dinner about seeing her with Arthur Russell, and is described by Mrs. Adams as 'deteriorating' due to lack of opportunity.

### Arthur Russell

Arthur Russell is the subject of Alice's practiced expressions and lies; Walter mentions seeing Alice with him downtown.

### Mildred Palmer

Mildred is referenced as a comparison for Alice's social standing and as someone Arthur Russell might prefer if Alice had more advantages.

## Key lines

> What makes me tell such lies? Why shouldn't I be just myself? And then she thought, 'But which one is myself?'

Alice wonders why she feels compelled to deceive Arthur Russell and questions whether she even knows her true self.

_This moment captures Alice's internal conflict about identity and authenticity._

> It could be a horn of plenty, the tearful Mrs. Adams insisted. It could! You don't understand a thing about it.

Mrs. Adams passionately defends the glue factory as a potential source of wealth, accusing Alice of ignorance.

_Mrs. Adams's fixation on the glue factory symbolizes her desperate hope for social and financial improvement._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/alice_adams_se/chapters/xi
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/alice_adams_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/alice_adams_se/chapters