Maybe Next Time

In its philosophical exploration of what activities create a fulfilling life, the novel illustrates the power of forgiveness and reconciliation to restore relationships. Emma’s pursuit of reconciliation with Dan and her children is a large component of the action, but her ability to forgive and reconcile with Hattie demonstrates Emma’s new emotional maturity and eventually frees her from the time loop.

Forgiveness proves crucial to Dan and Emma’s relationship as their letters to one another reveal that it was already knit together once before. When Dan withdrew emotionally after Poppy’s birth, struggling with grief after the death of his mother and overwhelmed by his feelings of ineptness at handling a newborn, they separated for several months. Dan describes himself during that period as being “the sad single-dad bachelor I knew I never wanted to be” (140) and explains how therapy “released something twisted and messy inside me” (139). His letter dated December 3, 2012, in Chapter 23, describes how much his reconciliation with Emma meant to him after their cautious dates led to his moving back in. Dan phrases this as color coming back into his life after a fog, noting that “shapes are more defined, and colors more vivid” (140). This image captures his new perspective and mirrors Emma’s evolving attention to sensory details like sounds and color as she relives the same day over and over. Reconciliation gives Dan a fresh outlook, teaching him to more deeply value what he has, and Emma’s forgiveness helped consolidate this renewed appreciation. Emma learns the same lesson from her experiences.

In addition, the novel explores situations in which reconciliation isn’t the appropriate response, as in Emma’s job situation in general and Arthur’s behavior in particular. Linda is taking advantage of Emma’s work ethic and junior status while treating her with disrespect, a situation that Emma gradually realizes she doesn’t want to stay in any longer. In the first two repetitions of the day, Emma finds it distasteful to defend and rationalize Arthur’s behavior, though she’s motivated to stay in Linda’s good graces since her salary depends on it. Given enough repetition, Emma realizes that compromising her own ethics to repair the damage that Arthur’s behavior created with his publisher isn’t worth her energy. Walking away from her job demonstrates her realigned priorities and also suggests that some things, like unkindness to others, shouldn’t be forgiven.

Emma’s last emotional struggle in the book is to deal with her belief that Hattie is Dan’s murderer. For a long time, she isn’t able to approach Hattie because of the emotional trauma of Dan’s death. However, as she gradually begins to listen to Hattie, Emma recognizes her friend’s distress. Eventually, she’s moved enough to change the events of Hattie’s day by suggesting activities together. Once she recognizes that Hattie isn’t responsible for Dan’s death (since he dies each night no matter what) Emma can renew their relationship. Though she’s forgiving something Hattie isn’t actually responsible for, at least in the version of the day that Emma rewrites, this act allows Emma to acknowledge what’s happening and, as Jas suggested, regard the extra time as a gift. This ability to reconcile with her circumstances finally breaks the time loop, illustrating the power of acceptance to break a person out of a metaphorically emotional (and, in Emma’s case, metaphysical) rut.