The Rosie Project SuperSummary Study Guide.pdf

THE ROSIE PROJECT GRAEME SIMSION

THE ROSIE PROJECT

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TABLE OF CONTENTS PLOT OVERVIEW

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CHAPTER SUMMARIES AND ANALYSES

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Chapters 1–4 Chapters 5–8 Chapters 9–12 Chapters 13–16 Chapters 17–20 Chapters 21–24 Chapters 25–28 Chapters 29–32 Chapters 33–36

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MAJOR CHARACTER ANALYSIS

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Don Tillman Rosie Jarman Gene Claudia Barrow

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THEMES

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SYMBOLS AND MOTIFS

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IMPORTANT QUOTES

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ESSAY TOPICS

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PLOT OVERVIEW The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion explores the romantic and comedic errors of a man with undiagnosed Asperger’s Syndrome, Don Tillson, as he looks for a wife. As a professor of genetics, Don lives an orderly, predictable life in a protected academic setting. Trouble ensues when he decides that he is ready to find his life’s partner. Set in Melbourne, Australia and New York City, the novel is told in the first person from Don’s perspective. The Rosie Project sits within the tradition of the initiation novel, though the protagonist is 39 years old. During the course of the novel, Don grows up and has his first experience with romantic love. Because of his difficulties with social interactions, when the novel begins Don has not had a significant relationship, or even a second date. Don decides that it is time for him to get married, so he organizes the Wife Project. He develops a stringent and detailed 16-page questionnaire to weed out all of the inappropriate and unqualified women. He hopes this process will identify a select pool of perfect candidates from which he can choose a partner. Rosie enters the picture when Don mistakes her for a Wife Project applicant. A graduate student in psychology, Rosie intrigues Don from the moment they meet, despite her clear lack of suitability. She agrees to a date with Don, during which Don agrees to help her find her biological father in order to keep the relationship going. Through their madcap adventures collecting DNA samples from more than 40 possible fathers, Don and Rosie fall in love, though they both refuse to acknowledge the fact. Don fails to recognize how he feels about Rosie because she does not fit the guidelines for his perfect partner. She smokes, has weird food issues, and is chronically late. Rosie denies her feelings for Don because he lacks social skills, adheres to a rigid and obsessively structured schedule in all areas of his life, and dresses like a bum. Once Don realizes his love for Rosie, he knows he will have to change considerably if he is to win her affection. With vigor, humor, and determination, he sets out to transform himself into a person she can love. Rosie eventually agrees to marry Don, and they embark upon their “happily ever after” in New York City. The Rosie Project

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demonstrates the ways in which people navigate the requirements of a meaningful relationship with another person while remaining true to yourself.

STEVEN GALLOWAY

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CHAPTER SUMMARIES AND ANALYSES Chapters 1–4 Chapter 1 Summary Don Tillman wants to get married. Thirty-nine and an assistant genetics professor, Don explains that he has tried a number of different methods to meet his future wife— including being set up by friends—so far without success. Don explains that he has two friends: Gene Barrow, head of the university’s Psychology Department, and his wife, Claudia, who is a clinical psychologist. These friends have tried to help him with the Wife Problem, but the traditional dating paradigm fails to help Don find a wife. Don realizes that there is something unappealing about him, despite his other advantages, which include intelligence, height, physical fitness, and a prestigious, wellpaid job. Don hits upon a solution to the Wife Problem when he agrees to give a lecture on Asperger’s Syndrome for Gene. Gene bows out of the lecture because he has an opportunity to have sex with a Chilean professor who is visiting Melbourne. Though he is married to Claudia, Gene claims that he has an open marriage and is conducting “research” by having sex with women from as many different countries as possible. Chapter 2 Summary Don delivers a lecture on the current research into the genetic causes for Asperger’s Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder. He finds Asperger’s to be a natural genetic variant, rather than a fault or disability. According to Don, there are advantages to the way an Asperger’s person thinks, including “organization, focus, and rational detachment” (10). In addition to Gene and Claudia, Don has had two other friends in his life: his sister, who died due to medical incompetence; and his elderly neighbor, Daphne. He has recently stopped visiting Daphne, because she no longer recognizes him due to her advanced dementia.

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The solution to the Wife Problem, Don believes, is a 16-page questionnaire that he can use to eliminate all unsuitable potential wives. Therefore, he will confine his romantic efforts to the women who meet his standards. Up until now, dating has been disastrous, incredibly inefficient, and a waste of Don’s time. Don has structured his life into a strict schedule with a time allocated for everything, including shopping, cooking, cleaning, and his leisure activities. His regimented lifestyle leaves no room for deviation or spontaneity. His new focus is the Wife Project. Chapter 3 Summary In his excitement to get the Wife Project started, Don attempts to track down his friend Gene to discuss it. Don arrives at Gene and Claudia’s house at 7:30 a.m. Claudia asks Don if the symptoms of Asperger’s remind him of anyone, and Don says that they do: Laszlo Hevesi in the Physics Department. He arranges to come for dinner on Saturday night. Don has a good relationship with both of the Barrow’s children: Eugenie, age 8, and Carl, age 16. Don finds himself in the Dean’s office the next day, discussing the academic dishonesty of one of Don’s graduate students, Kevin Yu. This is the second time Don has caught Kevin plagiarizing, and he wants him to be expelled. The Dean explains that the case is not as clear-cut as Don believes. The initial instance of plagiarism was a misunderstanding due to Kevin’s poor English skills, while the most recent example consists of a one-sentence repetition from another student’s paper. Since English is not his first language, Kevin uses a tutor to assist him with his papers. She encourages Don to find an alternative solution to the problem, rather than expelling Kevin outright during his last semester in graduate school. Don is left angry and confused, because the Dean seems more preoccupied with perception and image than with upholding academic standards. Don decides that his questionnaire will ruthlessly eliminate any women concerned with appearances. Chapter 4 Summary Claudia and Gene help Don finalize his questionnaire on Saturday night. They both encourage him to broaden his requirements, because he’s being too picky. He joins a face-to-face dinner date service and sets up a profile.

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During his first dinner date, he efficiently eliminates all four women present, despite the fact that he likes one of them—Olivia—and easily carries on an interesting conversation with her through the entire dinner. He eliminates her from the potential wife pool because she is a vegetarian. On his way home, he congratulates himself on his efficient use of the questionnaire, which saved him time and effort by eliminating all unsuitable candidates. Chapter 1-4 Analysis Though Don does not acknowledge it directly, the reader knows from the first pages of the novel that Don has Asperger’s syndrome. Much of the novel’s humor comes from Don’s misreading of social cues and his genuine confusion about the social mores that most readers take for granted. He offers readers another way to view the complexity and difficulties of social interactions. The juxtaposition between Don’s viewpoint and other people’s is often funny. However, the social misunderstandings are also painful and sad to witness, as the reader can see the constant problems Don encounters when trying to communicate with others. While he is aware that he does not always correctly interpret other people’s communication, he fails to identify the specific instances when these mistakes happen, and why. In addition, his manners, speech, and appearance also cause frequent social blunders. Don’s quest to find a life partner is intensified by the loss of two of his friends: his sister and Daphne. Daphne told him he would be a wonderful husband, and her long happy marriage leads Don to trust her opinion. His loneliness drives him to want to change his life by finding a partner. In his romantic pursuit, Don is open to the suggestions and criticisms of his friends, because he knows that he has many social deficits. Though he has experienced repeated rejections by women, he is not bitter or cynical; he genuinely wants a life partner. Encouraged by his friend Daphne to believe that he has the qualities it takes to be a good husband, Don pursues this new goal with determination. Though Don appears to be rigid, arrogant, and pedantic, he also demonstrates affection for children through his interactions with Eugenie and Carl, kindness in his relationship with Daphne, and humility through his insights into his own flaws.

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Chapters 5–8 Chapter 5 Summary Undeterred by his failure at the group dinner date, Don brings his questionnaire to a singles cocktail party. He is approached by a French woman, Fabienne, who asks him directly if she can buy him a drink elsewhere and announces that she would like to have sex. Don finds her very attractive, but he’s solely focused on the results of the questionnaire. Don tells her that someone suitable may show up if she waits longer; he’s disappointed when she fails to qualify as a suitable partner according to his questionnaire. Next, Don tries speed-dating. He eliminates all of the women quickly and efficiently using his questionnaire. He is puzzled that none of the women want to talk to him once he tells them that they have been eliminated. When Don posts the questionnaire on the internet, he receives 279 responses, bringing his total to 304. Gene helps him to sort through them, insisting that Don is missing some good potential mates because he is unwilling to compromise on some of his requirements. Gene offers to look through all of the questionnaires and give Don the results. Don agrees to ask the women that Gene identifies as candidates out for dinner. Chapter 6 Summary About two hours later, a red-haired, slender, attractive woman, of about 30, knocks on Don’s door. She tells Don that Professor Barrow, Gene, sent her to see him. Don, believing she is a wife candidate, asks her out to dinner. She sarcastically names an expensive restaurant, thinking that he’s kidding. Don misses the sarcasm and hacks into the restaurant’s computer to make a last-minute reservation for 8 p.m. that night. He calls Gene, who laughs, and tells Don her name is Rosie. Arriving at the restaurant just before 8 p.m., Don argues with the maître d’ over the restaurant’s jacket requirement. Because it’s unsanitary, he refuses to wear a jacket provided by the restaurant. An aikido expert, Don defends himself when security personnel attempt to remove him from the restaurant. Rosie arrives in the midst of this chaos. She knows the maître d’ and they are allowed to leave.

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Rosie is hungry and talks Don into making dinner for her at his place. Don has already dismissed Rosie as a potential wife; she is late, wears a lot of jewelry, and she doesn’t cook. Chapter 7 Summary Because she has been eliminated as a potential wife candidate, Don feels comfortable with Rosie. Though he’s alarmed by her invasion of his personal space, he does not protest when she puts on music and rearranges the furniture on his balcony without asking permission. Chapter 8 Summary Don makes a delicious lobster salad, and they have a great time eating, drinking wine, and talking on his balcony. Rosie understands and laughs at his jokes. Don has never eaten outside on his balcony before. The final blow to Rosie’s candidacy for life partner, however, comes when she smokes a cigarette. Rosie tells Don that she is looking for her biological father. Her mother died in a car accident when Rosie was 10 years old. The man who raised her, Phil, is not her real father. Her mother, a doctor, had an affair with another medical student after a graduation party while she was also seeing Phil. Rosie leaves at 2:30 a.m. Chapter 4-8 Analysis In these chapters, at least three women attempt to signal their interest in Don—Julia from the Asperger’s lecture, Olivia from the group dinner, and Fabienne from the cocktail party—but Don is unable to recognize their interest in him. Don dismisses all of these women as potential mates because of minor deviations from his rigid requirements. These rejections make Don’s attraction to Rosie, despite her glaring and more serious deviations from his requirements, even more ironic. Don’s mistake in thinking that Rosie is a wife candidate drives this portion of the plot. Gene does not correct Don’s error, perhaps because he wants to see how Don copes with this outspoken woman. Don immediately eliminates her from consideration in his mind, but his feelings betray him. COPYRIGHT 2016

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Don finds Rosie extremely attractive. He enjoys her company and allows her to rearrange both his apartment and his schedule. Rosie poses a threat to his ordered existence, while simultaneously opening up his life to exciting and pleasurable experiences. Ironically, she is a far worse match than the three women he has previously rejected. However, just as he befriended Daphne and helped her cope with her husband’s illness and death, Don cannot resist a woman who needs him. In addition, she poses a question that is interesting to him as a geneticist—who is Rosie’s biological father? Chapters 9–12 Chapter 9 Summary Don has lunch with Gene the next day. Gene admits that he threw Rosie into the mix without reference to the questionnaire. He asks Don if he had fun with Rosie. Initially, Don believes that the evening was simply a waste of time, but upon further reflection he concedes that he should see Rosie again to help her find her biological father. Don goes to the bar where Rosie works to reconnect with her and offer his services as a geneticist. Rose works as a bartender at the Marquess of Queensbury—a gay bar. He suggests that they gather the DNA of the potential fathers, and he offers to test it for her. She gives him her phone number. Chapter 10 Summary Don is thrilled to have gotten Rosie’s telephone number, even if it is only for business rather than romantic purposes. He is in need of time to reflect, so he gets back into his routine by going on his combined run and shopping expedition. The shop keeper at each stall in the market knows what he buys, since he makes the same meals every week, so each one has his purchases ready to go. He only needs to pause in his run to pay. He decides to cancel the Father Project, so he calls Rosie and leaves a message asking her to call him back. Rosie calls him to accept his offer of help. Because he answers the phone during a class, in front of his students, he’s unable to tell her that he wants to back out. When they meet for coffee the next day, they agree to collect the DNA samples together. She has a local candidate picked out who she believes is her father. COPYRIGHT 2016

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They go to Dr. Eamonn Hughes’ house on Saturday. Eamonn is a family friend, and he’s happy to see Rosie, who reveals that she got a very high score on the medical school qualifying exam. They come up with a ruse about a genographic study of doctors’ DNA, and Eamonn gives them a blood sample. When tested for DNA, the sample proves that Eamonn is not Rosie’s father. Don and Rosie go out for a drink to help Rosie recover from her disappointment. Don sees Gene with Olivia—the woman he met at the group dinner date. Rosie and Don end up having dinner and again have a good time. Rosie tries to explain to Don why it’s so important for her to find her “real” father. He doesn’t understand, but he knows that it’s important for her happiness. Don attributes this unaccustomed social success and his happy feelings to the fact that he’s already eliminated Rosie from consideration as a partner. He asks Rosie who they are going to test next. Chapter 11 Summary Rosie knows of two other family friends from her mother’s graduation class: Dr. Peter Enticott and Dr. Alan McPhee. Dr. Enticott lives locally, but since Dr. McPhee is dead, they decide to collect a sample from his daughter, Natalie, whom Rosie knows socially. Don has another uncomfortable discussion with the Dean, because a medical student has complained that Don tried to humiliate him. The student questioned Don about “creation science” and the fact that evolution is an unproven theory. Don presented the student with a flounder—which has two eyes on one side of its head, one of which has migrated from the other side—to demonstrate evolution. Though Don has technically not broken any rules, as usual, the Dean tells Don that he must try harder to “fit in.” Don is terrified. He knows that if he cannot fit in successfully in the science faculty at a university, he cannot fit in anywhere. Rosie drives Don to Natalie’s house, where Rosie ends up stealing Natalie’s toothbrush to get a DNA sample. Next they visit Peter Enticott, on the pretext of talking about Rosie’s application to the medical school where he teaches. They steal the cup he drinks from to get his sample.

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Chapter 12 Summary On the way home, Rosie takes a detour to the beach, so she can clear her head. Don respects Rosie’s way of dealing with her feelings. After walking on the beach, they resume their drive home. Don again experiences happiness and contentment in Rosie’s company. Rosie challenges Don’s prejudiced view of her. Because she works as a bartender, he didn’t believe her earlier when she said that she was a graduate student in behavior science with a high score on the medical entrance exam. When tested, neither of the DNA samples matches Rosie. She is very discouraged and sad. Over a bottle of wine, they discuss giving up the project. Finding and testing all of the remaining men in her mother’s graduating class would be too big of a task. Don finds he doesn’t want to give up on the Father Project, though he knows there is little rational basis for his decision. Chapter 9-12 Analysis Despite her lack of suitability as a prospective wife, Don pursues Rosie and offers her assistance in finding her father. During the collection of the DNA sample, Don finds that he is very content and happy in Rosie’s company. The fact that he does not want to give up on the project, despite the disruptions to his schedule, his life, his routine, and the Wife Project, show that he is beginning to have feelings for Rosie. He wants to spend as much time as possible with her, though he seems to be unaware of his feelings. It is less clear whether Rosie returns his feelings or not. Chapters 13–16 Chapter 13 Summary Don refuses to give up on the Father Project. He applies his scientific skills to the problem: estimating the actual number of men who remain to be tested, locating them, and figuring out how to get DNA samples. He discovers that there is a 30 year class reunion in only three weeks. He determines that they can gather DNA from the relevant men at the reunion. COPYRIGHT 2016

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He and Rosie are hired as bartenders for the reunion. Don memorizes a whole book containing mixed drink recipes. He realizes that his life is getting chaotic; he calls Claudia for advice. Don believes that Rosie applied for the Wife Project through Gene and he doesn’t want to hurt her feelings by telling her that she’s been eliminated. Claudia encourages Don to spend time with Rosie without telling her anything about the Wife Project, because Don admits that he’s enjoying spending time with Rosie. Gene asks to see Don at work the next day. He confronts Don about seeing Rosie, which Don had previously denied. Don avoids telling Gene about the Father Project; he’s on dangerous ground collecting DNA without people’s permission and using the university’s lab for private DNA testing. Gene asks Don how much he knows about Rosie. Don asks Gene why Rosie wants to be part of the Wife Project. Gene doesn’t answer directly, instead, he warns Don not to get his hopes up with Rosie, who Gene believes has a lot of emotional issues. Chapter 14 Summary Don gets very drunk during his practice sessions making drinks for his upcoming gig as a bartender at the reunion. He meets up with Rosie just before the reunion begins to exchange information about how to collect the DNA samples. Don has come prepared, with swabs and baggies labeled with each man’s name. He has memorized all 41 of their names in preparation. Rosie and Don work hard delivering drinks and collecting samples. When Rosie becomes overwhelmed with the task of remembering all the names, Don takes over. Don is a rock star: he remembers all the names, remembers which samples have been collected or not, and helps Rosie collect the samples from the glasses. He even offers exotic, obscure drinks to ensure that they get a sample from every man. He amazes the guests and other bartenders alike with his knowledge of drinks and recipes.

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Chapter 15 Summary Don’s performance enables his boss to make a lot of money, and they run out of ingredients. The boss arrives to help out, bringing more supplies. Rosie, Don, and the boss stay late to provide drinks for the crowd, long after dinner is over. Rosie and Don are able to get samples for all the men in attendance; they have now collected samples from all but 11 of their pool of potential fathers. During their analysis of the samples, Don clears the air about the Wife Project. He tells Rosie that he is not interested in her as a romantic partner because she is unsuitable. She tells him that she finds him unsuitable too. Don asks her why she applied for the Wife Project then. She tells him she’s never heard of it. She explains that she had a bet with Gene, and Gene sent her to Don to settle it. The bet was about the size of a man’s testicles being related to monogamy. Don is struck by the idea that Rosie initially went on a date with him without being part of the Wife Project. He is very pleased by this idea. Rosie is less pleased with Don. She tells him that his Wife Project is an insult to women, and that he’s treating women like objects. She asks him if he really wants a wife who would let a man treat her like an object. She reveals that she let him think that she’s only a bartender, when she is actually a Ph.D. student studying psychology in Gene’s department. Don doesn’t understand why Gene didn’t tell him the truth about Rosie; Rosie insists that it’s because Gene is a jerk. Rosie clearly doesn’t like Gene. Rosie asks Don why he’s helping her. When he says he doesn’t know, she storms out, very upset. The next day she drops by Don’s office to apologize, but she refuses to continue with the Father Project until she understands why Don wants to do it. Don locates the first candidate for the Wife Project. Chapter 16 Summary Bianca Rivera meets all of Don’s requirements. However, Don doesn’t meet all of hers. She is an accomplished ballroom dancer and Don has 10 days before their first date at

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the faculty ball to learn how to dance. Don accomplishes his task, with the help of a borrowed anatomy skeleton. Gene tries to get him to take Rosie to the ball instead of Bianca, or to at least go by himself. Don refuses; he’s very excited about meeting Bianca, the perfect date. Claudia encourages Don to be himself and to insist that any date accept him for himself. She asks if Rosie accepts him for himself. Don thinks she does. As the ball approaches, Don finds himself increasingly ambivalent about meeting Bianca. He doesn’t understand why he feels this way. He wants to pursue the Father Project instead. Even though he’s confused and nervous about meeting Bianca, he is determined to proceed. He orders a formal tux from the rental shop. Chapter 13-16 Analysis Don figures out how to help Rosie find her father by coming up with the plan to work as bartenders at her mother’s class reunion. At the reunion, Don and Rosie make a good team, they work well together, and Don steps up when Rosie needs him most. Don’s explanation about the Wife Project misunderstanding actually does nothing to clear the air between him and Rosie. This is the stuff of traditional, screwball, romantic comedy. Don doesn’t know why he’s helping Rosie, but both Rosie and the reader know that it’s because he likes her. Despite what he says about finding Rosie unsuitable for the Wife Project, he finds he cannot throw himself whole-heartedly into his upcoming date with the “perfect” Bianca. Chapters 17–20 Chapter 17 Summary On the night of the ball, Don dresses up in his formal tuxedo with tails and a top hat. He arrives by taxi, just as Bianca arrives. She is dressed in a spectacular, brightlycolored formal gown with a split up the side. The crowd laughs at Don’s costume, because no one else is dressed in tails with a hat. Don is a little annoyed that he got this wrong, but he plays up his entrance to cover his embarrassment. Rosie shows up in a simple green gown. Don thinks she is the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. Rosie has a date, Stefan, from her psychology program. Don instantly COPYRIGHT 2016

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dislikes Stefan. Don doesn’t understand why he’s not attracted to Bianca. The Dean arrives and her date turns out to be another woman. Bianca is a former national dancing championship finalist, so they are asked out onto the floor to demonstrate their dancing in front of everyone. Don blows it, and Bianca immediately leaves in an angry huff. Many people are laughing at Don, and he scans the audience to see who his real friends are: Rosie, Gene, the Dean, and her date are not laughing. Rosie talks to the bandmaster. She asks Don out onto the dance floor. This time, the dancing is magic. Don feels joy dancing with Rosie, and they are a big hit. Everyone compliments them on their performance; many people take pictures of their dancing. After the ball, Don and Rosie share a taxi ride home. They laugh about Bianca; Don faked not being able to dance rather than tell her he didn’t like her. Don confides in Rosie about his grief after his sister’s death. He tells Rosie that her name was Michelle, speaking her name for the first time since her death. Michelle died as a result of an undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy. Rosie confides her problems with her father; primarily that he has disappointed her. Rosie invites Don up to her place. Overwhelmed by everything that has happened, Don refuses. He needs to be alone to recharge and process all that has happened. When Rosie asks him if he finds her attractive, he lies and says no, though really he thinks that she is the “most beautiful woman in the world” (150). Chapter 18 Summary Gene tells Don that he made a mistake by not telling Rosie he thinks she is beautiful. Don still thinks he made the right call. Don realizes that Rosie indicated that she wanted to have sex the night before. Because both of them have agreed that they are not romantically interested in each other, he seems to be in a position to have “nostrings-attached” sex. Don has never had sex, because he’s never had a second date. Gene, as usual, coaches him. He tells Don to get a book. After consulting a book to prepare, Don seeks out Rosie in the Psychology Department. He asks to speak with her privately, but she insists that he can say whatever he wants right there. He tells her that he has reconsidered her offer of sex. After a long silence, Rosie tells Don that it was a joke. When he asks her about when they can resume work on the other project, she says that there is no other project. COPYRIGHT 2016

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Chapter 19 Summary Don resumes his regular schedule for a week. He attempts to contact Rosie and leaves a message for her. She does not respond. Claudia advises him to move on. Unable to let the Father Project go, Don constructs a fake research project on the genetic markers of autism in high-achieving people. He sends off the fake research questionnaires and cheek scrapers to the remaining father prospects. Seven of the remaining 11 respond. None of them is Rosie’s father. One of the possible fathers, Simon Lefebvre, insists upon receiving all the paperwork before he will give a sample. Two doctors in New York fail to return samples. Don decides to write a full proposal, spending hundreds of hours working on it, in order to get Simon’s sample. Daphne dies and Don is contacted by her lawyer. Daphne left him a small legacy, with the instruction to use the money for something irrational. Don decides to use the money to go to New York to get the two remaining samples. He gets a DNA sample from Simon, when he delivers the proposal and Simon laughs until he cries, wiping his eyes with a tissue. Chapter 20 Summary Don lurks for several days in the cafeteria where Rosie usually eats her lunch, waiting for his opportunity to tell her about his continuing work on the Father Project and to ask her to go to New York with him. At first she says no, but Don renews her interest in the project when he explains who the remaining three candidates are. Chapter 17-20 Analysis Don finds that his “perfect” date, as selected by his questionnaire, is not so perfect after all. Instead, he finds that he gets along much better with the supposedly incompatible Rosie. She cares enough about him to help him smooth over his initial dancing gaffe and they have a wonderful time at the ball. When Rosie invites Don up to her place afterwards, she has no idea that Don is too overwhelmed and inexperienced to accept her offer. By the time he has processed what happened and COPYRIGHT 2016

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decided to accept, it’s too late. Embarrassed by his assertion that he’s not attracted to her, Rosie withdraws from him and ends their friendship. Don tries everything he can think of to rekindle his friendship with Rosie. Daphne’s legacy gives him the freedom to pay for their trip to New York to pursue Rosie’s project. Chapters 21–24 Chapter 21 Summary Don rents a car and drives for over 14 hours to Moree, New South Wales, to obtain a DNA sample for the Father Project. Because the candidate himself has dies, Don has to collect the sample from the man’s mother. Margaret Case is in a nursing home and has lost her memory. Don sits by her bedside watching her sleep and decides not to collect a sample from her; it just seems wrong. She wakes up, and begins to cry. Don wipes away her tears and gets her DNA sample. He drives back home. Only the two New York doctors remain to be tested: Isaac Esler and Max Freyberg. Don meets Rosie at the airport. They fly to New York. On the plane, they arrange to split the responsibility for planning the days in between their Saturday evening dinner with the Eslers and their meeting with Freyberg on Wednesday. Rosie takes over the schedule, telling Don that she will plan their activities for two days and he will plan the other two. She insists that they are going to get to know each other on this trip; they are going to share their life stories. Don goes along with her plans. Chapter 22 Summary On the plane to New York, Don tells Rosie his life story. His father owns a hardware store; his brother lives at home and will take over the store when his father retires. His mother is kind, but Don finds her smothering. He is not close to anyone in his family since his sister died. His mother was devastated by Michelle’s death. Don was a computer nerd until his uncle, roasting him at his twenty-first birthday party, humiliated him by detailing how much pain and embarrassment he caused his family. COPYRIGHT 2016

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As a result, Don changed his major from computer science to genetics, determined not to fulfill the role of the stereotypical “computer geek.” When Don attempts to ask her questions about her life, Rosie deflects and then asks for some space. She spends the rest of the trip to Los Angeles sleeping or watching movies. Chapter 23 Summary They arrive in New York after the flight from Los Angeles. Their first stop is the Hermes shop, where Don buys Claudia an expensive scarf for her upcoming birthday. They arrive 45 minutes late for dinner with the Eslers. Rosie and Don have agreed to pretend that Don is a hardware store owner named Austin. After dinner, Isaac asks “Austin” to help him repair a faucet. As they go downstairs, the lights go out, and Isaac asks Don if he’s OK. When Don answers to his real name, Isaac reveals that he knew who Don was the entire time. He also tells Don that he knows the answer to Rosie’s question but that he promised never reveal to the answer to anyone. He allowed Don and Rosie’s deception to continue because he wanted to see Rosie. Chapter 24 Summary Rosie takes over their schedule, refusing to give in to Don’s “old man” (198) behaviors. First, she insists that he put on the shirt and jeans that Claudia gave him for the trip, because she won’t be seen with him dressed like a “bum” (199). Don forces himself to go along with whatever Rosie has planned for the next two days, after telling himself that the best times of his life, with the exception of his visits to the Museum of Natural History, have all been with Rosie. Don has a wonderful day with Rosie, eating breakfast, shopping, and eating ice cream. Rosie manages to disprove Don’s theory that all ice cream tastes alike. He lets go of his need for certainty and is rewarded with fun. That evening they see Spider-Man and eat dinner at Mamafuko Ko. It’s the best meal of Don’s life. He tells Rosie this is the best day of his adult life.

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Chapter 21-24 Analysis Don goes to great lengths to provide Rosie with the answer that she needs. He makes a 28-hour round-trip to get one DNA sample and spends his legacy from Daphne on his “irrational” trip to New York City. Rosie’s and Don’s first day in New York is one of the best days of Don’s life. Once freed from the restrictions he has imposed on his life, he finds he can enjoy and be interested in things that he never realized would interest him. Once again, Rosie presents Don with wonderful, spontaneous experiences, including a theater show and dining in a top restaurant. Chapters 25–28 Chapter 25 Summary Monday in New York is also a whirlwind of sight-seeing activities, which include the World Trade center site, MoMA, the Met, and a baseball game. Don finds the statistics of baseball fascinating; through that shared interest he makes a new friend, Dave, at the baseball game. Rosie says she enjoys watching Don “fit in,” performing stereotypical “man” behaviors like talking about baseball and drinking beer. Rosie finally confides in Don that what she refers to as being “fucked up” (209) by her father began when Phil, who she believed to be her father, sat her down at age 12 and told her that he wasn’t her biological father and that her mother had had an affair with another man. Since her mother had died two years before, this blow took away Rosie’s one remaining parent. As a consequence, Rosie doesn’t trust men or believe that they are who they say they are. She expects men to let her down or disappoint her. Don doesn’t know what to think of all this, and Rosie complicates matters by kissing him on the cheek as they part that night. Talking to Claudia by Skype, Don realizes that Rosie chose their activities carefully, maximizing the potential for fun while managing to make things interesting for Don. Claudia coaches Don to make his planned visit to the museum a tour for Rosie, rather than just a trip to Don’s favorite exhibits.

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Chapter 26 Summary Don travels to Columbia with Rosie on Tuesday. He had previously emailed a work acquaintance at Columbia, David Borenstein. Rosie meets with Mary Keneally to discuss her dissertation research topic, the environmental origins of early-onset bipolar disorder. Mary encourages Rosie to switch to medical school and introduces her to the dean of the school of medicine, David Borenstein. They all have lunch together, and David tells Don that there is a job for him at Columbia any time he chooses. That night, Rosie tells Don that she did actually get a 74—an extremely high score— on her medical school entrance exam. Don doesn’t understand why she didn’t choose to go to medical school. Rosie’s answer doesn’t make much sense, but Don doesn’t challenge her on it. On Wednesday, Don escorts Rosie through the Museum of Natural History, explaining the exhibits and trying to make the visit interesting for her. Rosie loves the exhibits, and they stay until the museum closes. She takes his hand as they leave and holds it all the way to the subway. Chapter 27 Summary Don and Rosie have one last task in New York: collecting a DNA sample from Max Freyberg, a plastic surgeon. They are posing as a journalist (Rosie) and a photographer (Don), who want to interview Freyberg for a series on successful graduates of their university. The interview goes wrong, and Freyberg suspects that they have an ulterior motive. Don escapes to the bathroom, where he is able to collect a DNA sample because of Freyberg’s terrible hygiene. Don texts Rosie to get out, while he escapes by climbing out of the window and using his rock climbing skills to scale down the side of the building. Rosie is waiting for him at the bottom. Freyberg thought they were private detectives investigating him on behalf of disgruntled patients. Back at the hotel, Don goes to Rosie’s room when she takes too long to get ready for dinner. She answers the door wearing only a towel. Don and Rosie discuss the value of appearances, with Don saying they don’t matter while Rosie thinks that it’s important to the ego to look good. COPYRIGHT 2016

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Rosie kisses Don. Don assumes that she wants to have sex, and he says he’ll be right back. They agree that the sex will be a one-time thing. Don showers and consults the book of sexual positions that Gene gave him for the trip. Returning to Rosie’s room 43 minutes later, he confesses that she should be the one to choose the position and hands her the book. When Don admits that Gene gave him the book, Rosie says that she’s changed her mind about having sex. Don is worried that he has done something wrong; Rosie reassures him that he hasn’t. He leaves. Very confused, he calls his baseball friend, Dave, and they go out for pizza. Chapter 28 Summary The next morning, Don manages to get himself on the plane to Los Angeles. He is completely overwhelmed emotionally and needs time to think through all that has happened, particularly why he sabotaged his opportunity to have sex with Rosie. On the long flight, he figures out that he would not be able to deal with the emotional consequences of having sex with Rosie. Other than asking how he is, Rosie leaves him alone. They change in Los Angeles for the flight to Melbourne. Rosie cries at the end of the movie Bridges of Madison County, and she asks Don if he cries at movies. He says he doesn’t appear to be wired that way. Back home, Don goes to dinner at Gene and Claudia’s on Sunday. They grill him about Rosie. Gene reveals that he was the one who took the photo of Rosie’s mother’s graduating class, and though he identifies Rosie’s mother by name—Bernadette O’Connor—in the photo, he does not seem to realize that she is Rosie’s mom. He also tells Don that Geoffrey Case killed himself and had bipolar disorder. Don swabs Gene’s glass when he leaves the table, thinking that he may be Rosie’s father. Chapter 25-28 Analysis Don’s work on the Father Project exposes him to wonderful new things, but also threatens his job and career. He has not gotten approval for the collection of the DNA samples, and in fact, has obtained them under false pretenses. Though not exactly “illegal,” such actions are considered highly unethical by the scientific community.

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The trip to New York City brings Don and Rosie closer together, while it also exposes their differences. Don found it impossible to keep Rosie at a distance, and he has made a lot of progress towards being able to have a relationship. Though he deliberately sabotaged his chance to have sex with Rosie, he did it for a mature reason. He makes a lot of social progress in New York, forging a new friendship with Dave and handling a lot of time and increased intimacy with Rosie appropriately. Chapters 29–32 Chapter 29 Summary Rosie and Don meet to finish the DNA testing. After this, the Father Project will be over and Don will have no reason to see Rosie. They test the final samples. While Don is preparing the samples, he asks Rosie what she will do when she finds out who her father is. She says she will expose him for revenge. Don is horrified and turns off the machines. He won’t let her do something so immoral. They fight; she says that she’ll never speak to him again if he doesn’t complete the tests. He says he figured that she wouldn’t speak to him again anyway, considering that the project is over and she isn’t interested in him otherwise. Rosie storms out. The Dean enters. She has found out about Don’s unapproved DNA project. She takes Don’s lab key and tells him that if she doesn’t get the paperwork, including approval from the ethics committee, Don is fired. Gene comes to his office the next day, telling Don that he will try to help him by claiming that the unethical DNA project was for the Psychology Department. However, all Don can think about is Rosie, and not the impending end of his career. He has decided that the Wife Project is over too; regardless of what happens with Rosie, Don realizes that he has no idea what will make him happy and that the questionnaire is a failure. Gene helps Don understand that he must be in love with Rosie. Don’s spirits immediately improve; now that he knows he’s in love, he will fix what Rosie thinks is wrong with him so she will accept him. The faults to be corrected: adherence to schedules and violations of social protocols.

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Chapter 30 Summary Once he realizes what he is feeling, Don is on comfortable ground again with a new project: the Transform Don Project. Don begins by getting help and instruction from Claudia. She compliments him on the subtle changes she recognizes in him. His visit to New York, including all the social practice and interactions with Rosie, has improved his social skills. Don role-plays social scenarios with Claudia and gathers information by watching romantic movies, including some of Rosie’s favorites. He realizes that fidelity is fundamental to all successful romantic relationships. Consequently, he shares this information with Gene, particularly after spending time discussing relationships with Claudia. He tells Gene that if he loves Claudia, he should be willing to make sacrifices to make her happy. After tackling his social skills, Don addresses his rigid schedule, abandoning his standardized meals and shopping for different types of food. This is not as difficult as he had feared. Don wants to share his new discoveries with Rosie. However, Don is not unrealistic; he knows that he will have to work hard to improve his social skills and that he may not be successful in convincing Rosie to be in a relationship with him. Chapter 31 Summary As he contemplates the potential loss of his job, Don decides to deal with his complaint against Kevin Yu. He calls Kevin into his office and asks him why he didn’t write the paper himself. Through further questioning, Don realizes that Kevin does understand the topic, and Kevin explains that he is not confident writing in English. He simply didn’t think it through before having his tutor rewrite his paper. With his own recent experiences as a rule-breaker in mind, Don decides to give Kevin an additional assignment instead of expelling him. For the first time, he puts himself in the Dean’s shoes and realizes how difficult her job really is. Next, Don addresses his appearance. He realizes that he had enjoyed people thinking that he was unconcerned with societal norms. Claudia helps him shop for a new wardrobe. Don follows that up by getting new glasses and a haircut.

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The Don Project is complete; now Don embarks on the Rosie Project. Dressed in the style of Gregory Peck—the world’s sexiest man according to Rosie—Don goes to Rosie’s office and asks her to dinner. Next, he goes to Gene’s office. He confronts his friend about his negative behaviors. Gene basically tells Don that he’s one to talk, since everyone thinks he’s a “buffoon” (255). That is exactly Don’s point: everyone thinks that Gene is a buffoon too, and furthermore, Don tells Gene that it’s time for him to grow up and put his wife and family first. Chapter 32 Summary Don changes into a jacket and pants in his office, in preparation for his appointment with Phil Jarman, Rosie’s “father.” Before Don has a chance to leave, the Dean comes in and gestures for him to follow her to her office. Don believes that he is going to be fired. However, Simon Lefebvre breezes in, carrying Don’s fake proposal and announces that Don’s project is exactly the joint medical research project he’s been looking for. Simon pledges four million dollars to the project, saving Don’s job. Don, with his new social skills, recognizes what is going on and simply leaves the office before he can ruin anything. Phil is a physical trainer who owns his own business. He recognizes Don immediately and demands that they go through with the physical assessment that was the pretext for Don’s visit. Don puts on boxing gloves and Phil insists that Don really should try to hit him. Don attempts to talk as they spar; telling Phil that Rosie is upset with him for not following through on his promise to take her to Disneyland. Don throws a punch that breaks Phil’s nose and knocks him down. Phil explains that he made that promise only once, at Rosie’s mom’s funeral. By the time he got out of rehab, eight months later, he thought that she had forgotten all about the promise. Phil asserts that he tried to do his best for Rosie. Chapter 29-32 Analysis The misunderstandings between Rosie and Don, which begin on their last night in New York, multiply when they return home. During their fight in the lab, it is clear that Rosie wants to be considered for the Wife Project, even though she claims otherwise. COPYRIGHT 2016

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Don is understandably confused. In New York, she seemed to want a one-night-stand, a purely sexual relationship. Back in Melbourne, she seems to resent the fact that Don has eliminated her as a wifely prospect. Don is unable to process or cope with this conflicting information, and he struggles to make sense of his feelings. Once he realizes that he genuinely loves Rosie, Don grows up. He attempts to change the things about himself that she said disqualified him as a suitable mate. He addresses her concerns one by one in the Don Project. First, she believes that he cannot love her, but he realizes that he does. Second, he improves his social skills, so he will no longer embarrass her in public and will have the skills to be a better partner. Finally, he improves his wardrobe and gets rid of his rigid schedule, including the repetitive meals. After all this “normalizing,” he feels ready to address other issues that hurt Rosie, such as her strained relationship with Phil. His confrontation with Gene and his correct interpretation of his meeting with the Dean and Simon Lefebvre demonstrate that Don’s efforts to increase his social IQ have worked. He has bravely put his new knowledge into practice. By confronting Phil, he attempts to be Rosie’s champion and make her life better by solving a problem that she cannot. Though he already understands that relationships are complicated, he gains new respect for those who deal with people’s problems and issues every day, as the Dean does. Don no longer dismisses his image as not important. He has come to understand that he can be his own person and not just a jokester or clown. Chapters 33–36 Chapter 33 Summary Don buys roses on his way to pick Rosie up for dinner. In picking her up in a taxi and handling their arrival at the restaurant—the same restaurant where they attempted to have dinner on their first date—he demonstrates that he has mastered the social niceties and protocol that escaped him before. Rosie notices these changes but does not know how to react. She is impatient to know why Don has brought her to the restaurant. Don asks her to marry him. Rosie says no because she doesn’t believe that Don loves her. He doesn’t exhibit his understanding of love the same way that she does, by crying at romantic movies, for example. She tells Don that they shouldn’t see each other anymore. COPYRIGHT 2016

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Don gets up and asks for the bill, meeting Claudia and Gene as they arrive to join the celebration Don had planned for the evening. It is Don’s 40th birthday. Gene and Claudia criticize Rosie for not appreciating how much Don has changed, on her orders. Rosie is upset and leaves. Gene and Claudia are clearly very much back together, and Gene has forgiven Don for giving him a talking-to. Despite his recognition of those positive developments, Don leaves upset about Rosie. He feels that he can never correct the fault in his brain that makes him unacceptable. He dumps his coat and tie in a trashcan as he runs home; the run helps him clear his head. Chapter 34 Summary Though he is very upset, Don does not shut down. Gene and Claudia follow him home and try to get him to let them come in. He refuses. He returns a happy birthday call from his family and corrects their impression that he is gay, by telling them that the redheaded woman in the picture with him on Facebook is the woman he was dating. Don recounts all he has learned about himself during the Rosie Project and decides that, realistically, he can have a relationship with a woman, even if he cannot love Rosie the way she wants to be loved. He knows that he must do more work on himself, and thanks to the success of the Don Project, he knows that he has the tools to keep growing and improving. Chapter 35 Summary When Don wakes up, he has further insights. Without consciously realizing it, he has resolved an issue that was bothering him. Rosie’s insinuation that he lacks empathy and the ability to love isn’t true. He does have an ability to empathize, but the situation has to involve someone he loves or cares about, not a fictional movie character. He recounts many instances of his empathy, including occasions in his relationships with Daphne, Claudia, and Rosie herself. Even a somewhat compromised ability to empathize does not mean that Don cannot love, because he knows he loves Rosie. He runs back to find his coat, because he left his cell phone in the pocket. A homeless man has taken his jacket from the trash can, and Don carefully removes his cellphone COPYRIGHT 2016

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and an envelope from the pocket of the coat. A couple watches him apparently robbing a homeless man and calls the police. Don rides his bike to campus, one step ahead of the police. In his office, he finds that his Father Project file has been ransacked by Rosie, who has left him a note, apologizing. Afraid that she will confront Gene without DNA proof of paternity, he rushes to locate Gene and head Rosie off. He finds everyone at the University Club— Gene and the Dean at one table, Rosie and Claudia at another. Don rushes up to Rosie and announces that he knows he loves her, because he loves her despite her flaws and still wants to marry her. Rosie presents the ring from the previous night’s proposal. She puts it on her finger and agrees to marry him. Don kisses Rosie to the applause of the entire dining room. The police arrive to question Don about what he took from the homeless man; he shows them that he has three tickets to Disneyland in his pocket. Chapter 36 Summary Don, Phil, and Rosie go to Disneyland. Don and Rosie marry and move to New York City, where Don works in the Genetics Department at Columbia University and Rosie attends medical school. They decided to move to make it easier for Don to maintain all of the positive changes that he has made. Rosie and Don work together three nights a week in a cocktail bar for extra income. They are trying to have a baby. Don takes the remaining DNA samples from the Father Project, plus one additional sample taken from Phil, and tests them. Don texts Rosie so that she can be there to see the results. Phil is her real father. Don blames Gene for the entire mix-up. As the professor of the genetics class the medical students took at the time, Gene vastly simplified his explanation of eye color inheritance. Rosie’s mother had no way to know that her education was not complete and that she based the confession of her affair to Phil on incorrect information, believing it was impossible for two blue-eyed people to have a child with brown eyes. Don marvels that without Gene’s mistake, he would never have met and married Rosie.

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Chapter 33-36 Analysis In true romantic comedy fashion, the final chapters of the novel bring the hero and heroine together for good and provide resolution to all the major questions raised in the novel. Rosie’s father is really Phil; he may be a bit of a clueless, old-fashioned sexist, but he really is Rosie’s dad. Gene stops philandering and repairs his relationship with Claudia. Don and Rosie move on to better lives in New York, free from the burdens of the past. They make new friends and a new life there. The novel ends on a completely upbeat, happy note.

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MAJOR CHARACTER ANALYSIS Don Tillman Don is 39 at the beginning of the novel, and he evolves and grows tremendously. His original intention with the Wife Project questionnaire is to eliminate all incompatible women, who would otherwise waste his time. He is extremely confident about what he wants in a partner, but he spends little time thinking seriously about what he has to offer in a relationship. When Rosie rejects him, he realizes that he has deliberately cultivated the identity and mannerisms of an eccentric person. He originally adopted a clownish persona to head off people laughing at him for things that he couldn’t help. Now that he’s grown socially and matured, through his interactions with Rosie and the world she’s opened up to him, he understands that he can change—the social mannerisms that govern people’s reactions to him are under his control. He can manipulate his behavior to be more acceptable. He does not have to be a fool. This realization is the climax of Don’s character development. Don grows up at this moment, though it took him 39 years. By the end of the novel, Don is focused on what he wants to give in a relationship, instead of on what characteristics and qualities his partner must have. He demonstrates this shift by altering his appearance and mannerisms, by studying emotion through the movies he believes can teach him about love and relationships, and by modifying his wardrobe and appearance to conform more to what would please his partner. He does not want to embarrass or upset Rosie, and he wants her to love him, so he “reforms” (264) himself. Rosie Jarman Rosie Jarman, age 30, is a Ph.D. student of psychology and a bartender. Her character operates as a foil for Don’s. They are opposites in nearly every way. Rosie finds Don funny, interesting and charming because she is an open-hearted, straight-talking, flexible person. Also brilliantly smart and somewhat eccentric herself, she is more accepting of the weirdness frequently associated with gifted people. Don’s “rude” behaviors do not initially bother her as much as they bother others. As she gets to know him, she is attracted to him, but she clearly does not appreciate COPYRIGHT 2016

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Don’s rigid ways or the emotional cues he misses or misconstrues. She values Don’s extreme kindness in helping her with the Father Project, along with his ability to be a good companion. Rosie enjoys taking Don out of his routine. She is a spontaneous, fun person. The flaw in the novel may be that Rosie’s motivations in accepting Don’s proposal seem less developed and not in keeping with the whole of her personality. Her character does not develop significantly over the course of the novel. Her major realization occurs when she sees that her rejection of Don is cruel and based on unrealistic expectations. Gene Head of the Psychology Department, Gene Barrow, age 56, is an aging womanizer, using his research into human sexuality as an excuse for his philandering ways. Gene is also Don’s best friend. Throughout the novel, Gene offers Don advice on how to handle social situations both at work and in his personal life. Though Don admires Gene’s success with women at the beginning of the novel, as he matures, he comes to see Gene differently. Gene’s womanizing, originally sanctioned by Claudia in an attempt to save their marriage, eventually drives a wedge, not only between Gene and his wife, but also between himself and the world. He is not respected for this behavior. In his own way, he is as immature as Don. Don’s friendship with Gene is upheld and grows to a new level when Don is able to point this out to Gene. For most of the novel, Gene guides, advises, and teaches Don about how to socialize and navigate the world. By the end of the novel, Don has matured enough to offer Gene help in return. Don’s confrontation with Gene, when Don tells him the truth about how his womanizing affects people’s view of him, marks a turning point in Gene and Don’s relationship. Gene’s response to Don’s critique of his behavior shows that he truly is friends with Don and has the maturity to internalize Don’s comments, reevaluate his behavior, and act to preserve his marriage and his friendship with Don. Without Don’s interference, Gene may not have changed course in time to save his relationship with Claudia.

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Claudia Barrow Claudia, Gene’s wife, is a clinical psychologist and one of Don’s two friends. She repeatedly provides guidance and emotional support for Don as he navigates his search for love. Kind and understanding, Claudia is undemanding of her husband, as she realizes that you cannot change for another person nor can you demand that the other person change for you. Change has to come from within. She points this out to Don. She helps Don develop his social skills and supports his transformation further by helping him shop for a new wardrobe. She supports Don as he develops a more mature understanding of relationships. She recommends movies, shares her emotional wisdom with Don, and offers him the lessons of her own marriage. Claudia seems to endure Gene’s philandering because she originally agreed to it, though she has clearly changed her mind. She loves Gene, and her example teaches Don a lot about what marriage can be like. For example, he learns by watching Claudia’s suffering that monogamy and fidelity are central components of a successful relationship. However, Claudia’s patience and wisdom also teach Don that no one can control another person’s behavior. She must endure until Gene decides he wants to change on his own. Don repays Claudia’s friendship by intervening with Gene. Don believes that he has a responsibility as both Gene’s and Claudia’s friend to try to help them, and he does not want to see his friends break up. Claudia’s patience with Gene pays off when they reconcile at the end of the novel.

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THEMES Power to Change In many ways, this novel speaks to the power of the human spirit to generate and create change. Simsion renders a character, Don, who grows profoundly, by means of his own determination and insights, with a little additional help from his friends. At the beginning of the novel, Don studies the behavior of others with great attention and detail. His observations lead him to insights about human nature and behavior, eventually enabling him to apply that observational knowledge to his own life. The only way that human beings can change is through their ability to be self-aware and use their intellect for self-analysis and reflection. A secondary theme in the novel, related to the power to change is expressed by the notion that people are generally blind when it comes to their own behavior and situations. Early in the novel, Don says, “Humans often fail to see what is close to them and obvious to others” (82). At the time Don makes that comment, it is ironical, because he is completely oblivious to many of his own violations of social conventions that result in painful situations for him. Later, this statement takes on an additional ironic twist because he cannot see, though it is obvious to his friends and to the reader, that he is developing serious feelings for Rosie. However, through the maturity that comes through his relationships—with Daphne, Gene, Claudia, and Rosie—he is eventually able to gain the self-awareness required for him to change for the better. Don’s increased maturity leads him to develop deeper and more meaningful relationships. Search for Love A significant theme in the novel, expressed through the lives of several characters, is the search for love. The Father Project and the Wife Project both originate in a search for love: Rosie searches for a father’s love, while Don searches for a wife’s love. Underlying this search is the idea that it is important to go after what you want, despite great challenges. Simsion implies that the journey toward love is worth the sacrifices made along the way. Through the traditional romantic comedy plot—Boy Meets Girl, Boy Loses Girl, Boy Gets Girl Back Again—Simsion tells the love story of untraditional main characters, reinforcing the universal nature of the human desires for love and connection.

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Intellect versus Emotions Don constantly uses his intellect to conquer and manage his emotions, which threaten to overwhelm him at several points in the novel. Depression hovers over Don at three points in his life: on his 21st birthday when his uncle unsparingly and cruelly reveals how much pain and embarrassment Don has unwittingly caused his family through his odd behavior; when his sister dies; and when Rosie rejects him. At each of these difficult points, Don must choose how to respond. Don chooses to study his emotions like they are problem to be solved, using his intellect to understand and cope with his feelings. However, working through these crisis points also teaches Don to manage his feelings when he’s not in crisis. Through practice, he gains confidence in his ability to handle himself in social interactions and friendships on a daily basis. Don’s friendship with Daphne is particularly helpful in this way. It is particularly distressing for him when he realizes that his intellect is in conflict with his feelings, specifically concerning Rosie. Don’s intellect tells him that she is all wrong for him, but his feelings obviously do not agree. Despite his investment in his questionnaire and trust in his scientific methods to find a spouse, his feelings end up choosing instead. Alternately, as Don explains it, his instincts or biology choose for him. Neither intellect and rationality or emotion and instinct triumph in this novel. Simsion seems to suggest that both intellect and emotion are required for a balanced and happy life. For example, Don uses the power of his intellect to help him learn to be more connected and emotionally available to—and empathetic with—the people he loves. The improvement of his ability to deal with emotion, and bring it more into balance with his intellectual powers, enables him to have happier and more fulfilling relationships. He even opens up more to his family by the end of the novel: where he once found his mother emotionally “stifling,” by the end of the novel he honors her desire for a closer relationship when he reveals his relationship with Rosie (182). The use of his intellect to understand his feelings actually allows Don to be more emotional and intimate with others.

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SYMBOLS AND MOTIFS Clothing Simsion uses clothing to describe his characters’ attitudes to themselves and their roles in society. Don constantly describes both his own, and other people’s clothing in great detail, frequently noting not only colors and styles, but texture and accessories, such as hats, scarves, or jewelry. Don dresses like a bum or a teenager in his favorite fifteen year old t-shirts and constantly refers to people’s clothing choices as “costumes.” In this way, he reveals that he finds all dressing to be a form of social play-acting—people dress according to their roles in life’s play. This attitude highlights Don’s contempt for social custom and also his naivety and social immaturity. He says that he pays little attention to his appearance, which reflects his general disdain for the requirements of social interaction, but in actuality, his constant references to dress and its social appropriateness, or lack thereof, reveal his preoccupation with social correctness. He is pretending to be too cool to care, because his initial attempts to dress appropriately were so inept that they brought him only ridicule. However, Don does desire to fit in by wearing the appropriate clothing. As the novel progresses he seeks advice to gain the expertise he lacks—how to dress appropriately for his age and role in life. In contrast with Don, Rosie has an intentionally unique look. Her glasses, hair color, and choice of attire—frequently punk or Goth-influenced—make a deliberate, positive statement. Rosie’s independent spirit and feminism are reflected in her clothing. For example, Rosie consciously chooses to dress in a manner that would not attract male attention. She doesn’t care what most people think, and Gene believes that she may be gay because of the way she dresses. However, she is successful in her quest to avoid unwanted objectification and sexual attention from men like Gene. Both Don and Rosie call attention to themselves through non-traditional clothing choices. Rosie, however, is able to conform when she wants to because she has a more sophisticated understanding of social mores. For example, she wears a pretty ball gown to the faculty ball, and she enjoys choosing a gorgeous, expensive scarf for Claudia in the Hermes shop in New York.

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Don’s outer transformation into Gregory Peck, in order to attract Rosie, symbolizes his inner transformation and reflects his new maturity. Everyone Don knows notices his transformation into a more appropriate, adult version of himself. Projects—The Wife Project/The Father Project In order to handle the demands of his life, Don compartmentalizes his life into “projects.” The various projects—the Father Project, the Wife Project, the Rosie Project, and so on—are a motif in this novel that represent Don’s emotional coping mechanism and reflect his orderly, scientific world view. Don approaches his life the same way he approaches a scientific problem. He attempts to find logic and rationality in every situation, and where there is no logic, he imposes it. For example, his love for Rosie transforms into the Rosie Project; he creates a step by step process to cope with the fact that Rosie has rejected him, imposing logic on his hurt and overwhelmed feelings, as well as finding a way to process those feelings and channel them into a constructive, positive direction. Seeing his life in terms of “projects” allows Don to generate a beginning and an ending—a structure that life frequently lacks. In this way, Don confronts his problems, or other people’s problems in the case of the Father Project, and creates order out of life’s chaos.

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IMPORTANT QUOTES 1. “Restaurants are minefields for the socially inept…” (Chapter 1, p. 4). Here, Don explains that the social intricacies of going to a restaurant are dangerous ground for him. This is one of many clues in the opening chapter that Don is not a typical protagonist. His insights, often refreshingly blunt, reveal the complexity of human interactions. Not everyone can perform socially without making serious mistakes; Don’s self-deprecation and humor make him relatable, even if the reader does not share his problem. 2. “It seems hardly possible to analyze such a complex situation involving deceit and supposition of another person’s emotional response, and then prepare your own plausible lie, all while someone is waiting for you to reply to a question. Yet that is exactly what people expect you to be able to do” (Chapter 1, p. 8). Here, Don explains one difficulty he has in social situations. His brain is not wired the same way as most people’s are, resulting in both hilarious and painful interactions. Don’s insights offer a view into thought processes that most people take for granted. Repeatedly, throughout the novel, Don offers his critique of the hypocrisies of typical adult social exchanges. 3. “‛Professor Tillman. Most of us here are not scientists, so you may need to be a little less technical.’ This sort of thing is incredibly annoying. People can tell you the supposed characteristics of a Gemini or a Taurus and will spend five days watching a cricket match, but cannot find the interest or the time to learn the basics of what they, as humans, are made up of” (Chapter 2, p. 9). Don gives an example of his frustrations with “regular” people, emphasizing his difference from many other people. Don has a rational and scientific approach to all aspects of life. 4. “‛Fault! Asperger’s isn’t a fault. It’s a variant. It’s potentially a major advantage. Asperger’s syndrome is associated with organization, focus, innovative thinking, and rational detachment’” (Chapter 2, p. 10). Don explains to a group of Asperger kids’ parents the current genetic understanding of Asperger’s Syndrome, which is also referred to as an Autism COPYRIGHT 2016

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Spectrum Disorder. He defends the positive aspects and qualities of people with Asperger’s. 5. “I have heard the word stunning to describe women, but it was the first time I had actually been stunned by one. It was not just the costume or the jewelry or any individual characteristic of Rosie herself: it was their combined effect. I was not sure if her appearance would be regarded as conventionally beautiful or even acceptable to the restaurant that had rejected my jacket. Stunning was the perfect word for it” (Chapter 6, p. 45). Don is bowled over by Rosie; he’s attracted to her. Her unconventional behavior and appearance do not put him off as they might a more conventional man. At every turn, she shows herself to be a force to be reckoned with. 6. “She was destroying my apartment!” (Chapter 8, p. 56). Rosie invades Don’s life and he loves it. Though he’s incredibly uncomfortable at first with her being in his apartment and looking over everything, he does not protest when she moves furniture on the balcony or puts on music. She just takes over, but in a way that improves Don’s life. His comment is both serious and jocular. Don makes a profound statement about change: in order to bring about something new, the old must be destroyed. 7. “Humans often fail to see what is close to them and obvious to others” (Chapter 11, p. 82). Don marvels at humans’ inability to see themselves. This statement takes on an additional irony because the reader knows that Don himself cannot see what is close to him. He fails to see his own social blunders and misreads other people’s emotions and statements. He also cannot see his true feelings for Rosie, though it is obvious to Don’s friends—and the reader—that he cares for her. 8. “Then she put on some music—very loud rock music, Now she really couldn’t hear me. I was being kidnapped! We drove for ninety-four minutes. I could not see the speedometer and was not accustomed to traveling in an open vehicle, but I estimated that we were consistently exceeding the speed limit. Discordant sound, wind, risk of death—I tried to assume the mental state that I COPYRIGHT 2016

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used at the dentist” (Chapter 12, p. 93). Don is amazed by Rosie’s ability to shake up his life. He doesn’t even protest. Even at this early point in the novel, Rosie has the ability to get past Don’s defenses, and he allows her to do things with him that he would never allow others to do. Though he is initially resistant to each change, he eventually finds that he enjoys himself. 9. “‛You can’t go through life not listening to music’” (Chapter 12, p. 94). Rosie explains one of life’s basics to Don. This is one of the many times that Rosie brings more excitement, connection, and experience into Don’s life. He learns that things are pleasurable that he had never considered or that he simply did not know how to bring into his own life. Rosie demonstrates here, as she does on many other occasions, how good a friend she can be for Don. 10. “Hurtling back to town, in a red Porsche driven by a beautiful woman, with the song playing, I had the sense of standing on the brink of another world. I recognized the feeling, which, if anything, became stronger as the rain started falling and the convertible roof malfunctioned so we were unable to raise it. It was the same feeling that I had experienced looking over the city after the Balcony Meal, and again after Rosie had written down her phone number. Another world, another life, proximate but inaccessible” (Chapter 12, p. 95). Don experiences contentment in the company of another person, Rosie. Not used to being happy and relaxed in the company of others, Don marvels at this new feeling, which results from his growing intimacy and friendship with Rosie. His relationship with Rosie simply makes him happy. 11. “Research consistently shows that the risks to health outweigh the benefits of drinking alcohol. My argument is that the benefits to my mental health justify the risks” (Chapter 14, p.110). Don proves that he doesn’t always do the most rational, scientifically-proven thing. He drinks alcohol. He finds that it helps reduce his social anxiety while elevating his mood.

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12. “But why, why, why can’t people say what they mean?” (Chapter 15, p. 122). Don once again laments the colloquial sayings or opaque language that prevents him from understanding what people mean. Here, he is responding specifically to his boss at the reunion asking him ‘what’s your poison?’ instead of asking what Don wants to drink. Don constantly has to check with people what their intended meaning is. 13. “It may have been due to the effect of the gordo blanco on my cognitive functions, but I was suddenly overwhelmed by an extraordinary feeling—not of satisfaction but of absolute joy. It was the feeling I had in the Museum of Natural History and when I was making cocktails. We started dancing again, and this time I allowed myself to focus on the sensations of my body moving to the beat of the song from my childhood and of Rosie moving to the same rhythm” (Chapter 17, p. 146). Don experiences joy, once again, while in Rosie’s company. She forces him to get out on the dance floor after his disastrous dance with Bianca. She won’t let him be a laughing stock, and she helps him to replace that bad memory with a good one. 14. “‛You’re unbelievable,’ said Rosie. ‘Look at me when I’m talking.’ I kept looking out the window. I was already over-stimulated. ‘I know what you look like’” (Chapter 17, p. 147). When Don is emotionally overwhelmed he loses the ability to be social. He cannot maintain eye contact when he’s upset; it’s too stimulating for his nervous system. What others interpret as rudeness or dismissal of their ideas, as Rosie does here, is actually a coping mechanism so that Don can continue to function. 15. “Gene told me the next day that I got it wrong. But he was not in a taxi, after an evening of total sensory overload, with the most beautiful woman in the world. I believed I did well. I detected the trick question. I wanted Rosie to like me, and I remembered her passionate statement about men treating women as objects. She was testing to see if I saw her as an object or as a person. Obviously the correct answer was the latter. ‘I haven’t really noticed,’ I told the most beautiful woman in the world” COPYRIGHT 2016

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(Chapter 17, p. 150). Don believes that he is supporting Rosie’s need to be treated in a fair and nonsexist manner, but ends up making a serious social, and romantic, error. In this particular social situation, Don should have supported Rosie’s romantic, not platonic, needs. There is no indication at this point that Don recognizes that he is making a mistake. 16. “‛But I’m not good at understanding what other people want.’ ‘Tell me something I don’t know,’ said Rosie for no obvious reason. I quickly searched my mind for an interesting fact. ‘Ahhh … The testicles of drone bees and wasp spiders explode during sex’” (Chapter 20, p. 171). Don demonstrates his literal interpretation of other people’s conversational gambits. He frequently does not recognize sarcasm, particularly when the other person indicates by tone of voice something that is the opposite of what is said. 17. “I met Rosie at the airport. She remained uncomfortable about me purchasing her ticket, so I told her she could pay me back by selecting some Wife Project applicants for me to date. 'Fuck you,’ she said. It seemed we were friends again” (Chapter 20, p. 178). Don once again demonstrates his lack of social perception. He also hurts Rosie’s feelings, but he is unaware of this. She is beginning to like Don, but he fails to pick up on her cues. Here, he specifically misses the fact that she does not want to help Don by picking out someone else for him to date; she wants to date him herself. 18. “’It would be unreasonable to give you credit for being incredibly beautiful’” (Chapter 27, p. 222). Don has trouble maintaining his distance from Rosie in New York. 19. “And it dawned on me that I had not designed the questionnaire to find a woman I could accept, but to find someone who might accept me” (Chapter 29, p. 240). COPYRIGHT 2016

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Don has an insightful realization. The characteristics that he is looking for in his questionnaire are actually the characteristics that he possesses already. At the beginning of the Wife Project, he did not know what he actually needed in a partner, only what he thought he needed. He now realizes that he has been looking for love and acceptance all along. 20.“I had, to some extent, become comfortable with being socially odd. At school, I had been the unintentional class clown and eventually the intentional one. It was time to grow up” (Chapter 30, p. 243). Don realizes that he has not confronted his problems with social interaction; he has deliberately hidden behind a cultivated oddness to avoid having to deal with his social skills. As a result of his desire to please Rosie, he realizes the value of good social skills in avoiding embarrassing himself or people he cares about, for the first time. Even if Rosie does not accept him, Don knows that it is time for him to make this change. 21. “‛If you really love someone,' Claudia continued, 'you have to be prepared to accept them as they are. Maybe you hope that one day they get a wake-up call and make the changes for their own reasons’” (Chapter 30, p. 246). Claudia tries to help Don understand that changing, as he is changing his behavior, in order to impress another person may not work out well in the end. A person has to make changes on their own; otherwise that person might resent the changes he makes to get or to keep a relationship. Don realizes that Claudia is also referring to Gene and his philandering here. Don is confident that he needs to make the changes he is making, so he doesn’t believe that this statement applies to him. 22. “‘Exactly,’ I said. ‘You think people see you as a Casanova. You know what? I don’t care what other people think of you, but, if you want to know, they think you’re a jerk. And they’re right, Gene. You’re fifty-six years old with a wife and two kids, though for how much longer I don’t know. Time you grew up. I’m telling you that as a friend’” (Chapter 33, p. 255). Don’s attempts to improve his understanding of societal norms and acceptable social behavior lead him to the realization that his best friend isn’t a good role model. Don comes to understand the cost of Gene’s womanizing ways and he no COPYRIGHT 2016

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longer admires Gene for his way with women. Part of this understanding comes as a result of talking with Claudia; during these conversations, Don sees the pain that Gene’s behavior causes her. Don has become much more empathetic. 23. “‘I need a minute to think,’ she said. I automatically started the timer on my watch. Suddenly Rosie started laughing. I looked at her, understandably puzzled at this outburst in the middle of a critical life decision. ‘The watch,’ she said. ‘I say “I need a minute” and you start timing. Don is not dead’” (Chapter 33, p. 268). Don asks Rosie to marry him, after changing his appearance and mannerisms. However, he proves that his underlying personality remains unchanged. 24. “Nothing would change the fault in my brain that made me unacceptable” (Chapter 33, p. 271). Don laments the way that his mind works; which makes Rosie believe that he is incapable of loving her. Don is devastated that all of his hard work has not made him acceptable to Rosie. He says this after Rosie refuses his marriage proposal. 25. “I haven’t changed my mind. That’s the point! I want to spend my life with you even though it’s totally irrational. And you have short earlobes. Socially and genetically there’s no reason for me to be attracted to you. The only logical conclusion is that I must be in love with you” (Chapter 35, p. 283). Don refuses to give up. He insists upon telling Rosie again that he loves her and wants to marry her. Typically, Don uses his intellect to analyze and evaluate his feelings. The reader finds it humorous that even love comes under the microscope of scientific investigation for Don.

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ESSAY TOPICS 1. Do you believe that people can change? Don tells Rosie that he’s changed “only [his] behavior” (268). How easy or difficult is it for a person to change their behavior? What motivates a person to want to change? Claudia says that changing to meet “another person’s expectations” (246) leads to resentment. Do you agree or disagree? Explain this notion in terms of three different characters in the novel. You may choose from any of these characters: Gene, Claudia, Don, Phil, the Dean, Rosie. 2. Does Rosie’s acceptance of Don’s proposal make sense? Describe her character and why you believe she would fall in love with and marry Don. Be sure to include each stage of their relationship, and explore the moment in the novel when she begins to see Don as a potential partner. 3. How does empathy relate to love? Don explains how these concepts are different for him. Do you agree that Don is capable of love? Explain. Be sure to include an explanation of how love and empathy intertwine. You must use examples from Don’s relationships with Daphne, Gene, Claudia, and Rosie. 4. A significant theme of this novel is the search for love. Explore how Gene, Don, and Rosie are each on a search for love. Are the characters successful in finding the kind of love they want? Explain. 5. Don says that he “reforms” (264) himself during the novel. How is his inner transformation reflected outwardly? How does his transformation determine the outcome of his story? Describe three instances where Don demonstrates changed behavior as a result of his new insights. You must include at least one example that includes a character other than Rosie; you may choose from the following characters: Gene, the Dean, Kevin Yu, Phil, and Claudia. 6. Though Don never explicitly states that he has Asperger’s Syndrome—a type of autism—he clearly demonstrates many of its characteristics. In what specific ways does Don exhibit the characteristics of autism? Drawing on your own research into Autism Spectrum Disorder/Asperger’s, discuss the ways in which Don is successful, or not, in overcoming his autistic characteristics. Be sure to account for Don’s belief that autism is an “advantage” (10).

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7. Rosie espouses many traditionally “feminist” views. In what ways is her character a feminist? In what ways does Don appear to be more, or less, of a “feminist” than Rosie? What do you think Simsion is trying to say about feminism? What are some feminist principles that are upheld in this novel, if any, and by whom? Be sure to include Don’s Wife Project questionnaire in your discussion. 8. At the beginning of the novel, Don has very fixed—but idiosyncratic—views of ethics, rules, and morality. How do Don’s views of what is right or wrong change throughout the novel? Be sure to include both workplace ethics and romantic ethics in your discussion. 9. In what way is this novel an adult initiation or coming-of-age novel? How does Don grow up during the novel? Explain Don’s journey to adulthood. 10. Don says, “Humans often fail to see what is close to them and obvious to others.” (82). How true is this statement? Discuss the relevance of this statement to at least three significant characters. How does each character fail to see something that others can clearly see? Explain.

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