Little Fires Everywhere
Celeste Ng
Contributed by Darcey Schwenk
Chapter 13
Summary

Mia’s backstory starts when she left her childhood home when she was 18 to enroll in the New York School of Fine Arts. Before then, she had been encouraged by her brother Warren and by a neighborhood photographer named Mr. Wilkinson who loaned her equipment and gave her tips. When she got to the school, a teacher named Pauline Hawthorne recognized talent in her and took her under her wing, mentoring her and inviting her to her home where she met Pauline’s partner Mal and the three of them became friends. She is succeeding in art school when she is approached by Joseph Ryan who asks her to become a surrogate for him and his wife Madeline, who cannot have children. She dismisses the idea until her aid is cancelled by the school and she then seriously considers their offer.

Analysis

Throughout the chapter up until Joseph Ryan’s proposition, Mia’s story follows the predictable trajectory of a talented but poor art student who makes some friends and gets some breaks and might be able to achieve something. She has to work constantly to stay in school, but she is willing, and it is worth it to her. She is befriended by a talented teacher who herself sees promise in Mia the young artist.

Mia’s story highlights the significance of the sort of exchange being made by the McCulloughs for all parties involved, as well as the narrow-mindedness of Mrs. Richardson’s pursuit. The parallels between the McCulloughs and the Ryans are striking. Knowing Mia as well as we do, the reader has a sympathetic view of any woman who is part of an equation in which a family cannot give birth. The fact that Mrs. Richardson seems blind to the parallels between her friends’ situation and Mia is illustrated by the details that come out in this chapter. It also shows Mia’s tremendous potential, and sets up the value of the sacrifice she will ultimately make for Pearl.

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