52 pages • 1 hour read
A Not So Meet Cute
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Themes
The Balance Between Authenticity and Appearances
The entire framework of A Not So Meet Cute is based on being inauthentic: Lottie and Huxley must pretend to be engaged and expecting a child to secure a business deal and fulfill an agreement with one other. Meghan Quinn thus introduces a disparity between how people present themselves and how they truly are early in the novel. It soon becomes clear, however, that the fake dating arrangement reflects a broader gap between the characters’ public and private personas, which results in interpersonal tension. Huxley initially makes no effort to investigate the interiority of Lottie’s character, while she initially sees him as a cold and self-absorbed person. The structure of the novel, which features chapters from both of their perspectives, helps demonstrate that they are more complex than they appear to each other. However, it takes time and conflict for the two to begin to see this.
Firstly, Lottie is hiding her insecurity, most of which has developed in response to the classism, mistreatment, and abandonment she has experienced from others. Due to this, Lottie has an inherent mistrust of people, like Huxley, who appear haughty, withdrawn, and preoccupied with success. She thinks, “Ultimately, this is another situation where a rich person gets what they want by using a poor person,” but merely tells Huxley, “I know this is going to sound prideful, but I’m not sure I should be taking handouts right now. I need to figure out what I’m doing with my life” (63). Her guardedness has practical consequences, as she initially rejects his agreement because she feels bad about accepting help from others, something she assumes would further typecast her as someone incapable of fixing her own problems. Moreover, even after she accepts the deal, the fact that she is not fully open about her fears lays the groundwork for future misunderstandings—e.g., the argument when Huxley confronts her about potentially revealing the truth of their arrangement to Ellie.
Lottie’s journey toward greater emotional honesty coincides with Huxley’s, as it is in large part the realization that he is not what he seems that puts her at ease. Lottie gradually begins to learn that Huxley has a warmth and generosity that he hides to maintain his reputation as a stern, calculating businessman. For instance, when one of his worksites burns down, he quickly ensures his workers are unharmed and sends them gift packages. He also pays Lottie’s student loans and ensures that her sister receives a second shot at pitching her business model to him and his brothers. Huxley is ultimately revealed to have his own emotional wounds and subsequent insecurities, which explain his cold exterior.
Because they hide their true selves from each other, Lottie and Huxley initially struggle to present a united front in their ploy as fake fiancés. The forced proximity, however, eventually does them good, as their time together increases their opportunities to discover each other’s hidden depths. By the time the charade of their impending marriage is finished, the false selves they present to each other have also disintegrated, and they can end the novel feeling more authentic and comfortable with one another. That they are by this point engaged to one another underscores how far they’ve come by bringing the story full circle: What was once a charade is now a reality, their growth allowing them to participate in the kind of open and loving relationship they could previously only mimic.
The False Allure of Wealth
Throughout the novel, wealth and success play a primary role, whether through the need for money to pay bills, the desire to create a flourishing business, or the conflict created by financially privileged people like Angela mistreating working-class characters like Lottie. Lottie has felt at an economic disadvantage since childhood, being raised by a single mother in Beverly Hills. Her circumstances at the beginning of the novel—jobless, unable to move out, and facing an insurmountable level of debt—only reaffirm her long-standing belief that wealth is the solution to her problems. While this is partially true, her desire for it isn’t wholly practical. She wants to pay her debt and boost the viability of her sister’s business, but she also wants money in excess of what she needs and, in particular, the status and superiority that wealth appears to bring with it.
Lottie’s vindictiveness toward Angela emphasizes this point. While Lottie is particularly hurt by Angela’s betrayal, she has also been envious of Angela since childhood, even as she felt grateful that someone as affluent as Angela would hang out with someone less so like Lottie: “Growing up in a rich city on a blue-collar income, Angela was exciting to me. I know it sounds ridiculous, but when you’re a kid, flashy things are so fun. Angela had all the flashy things, and we had so much fun together” (210). Over the course of the novel, Lottie’s dream of having “flashy things” comes true: Not only are her debts paid, but she is also given expensive clothing and a place in Huxley’s grand home with a full staff at her disposal. Despite this, she feels uncomfortable. Her original goal of being the wife of a rich man is alluring—though she’s only pretending to be his fiancée—but it has its limitations: It doesn’t quell her feelings of insecurity, as evidenced by her continued resentment of Angela. When Angela texts Lottie to ask about the class reunion, she makes a dig at Lottie’s circumstances and claims to have seen Huxley out with another woman. Even knowing this is not true—and surrounded by luxury and working to better her circumstances, Lottie reacts viscerally, easily undermined by an upper-class person who made her feel inferior.
Furthermore, Lottie can’t begin to truly enjoy said luxury until she begins to get along with Huxley better. He offers her a multitude of expensive things so long as she behaves as he asks, but these restrictions are a source of tension between them. While some of his demands stem from his own foibles, others reflect elite convention. Lottie thus begins to understand that operating in a different social class is different than she expected and that she must act in a way that she’s not completely comfortable with: Wealth (or the lack of it) was not the source of all her problems. Rather, feeling emotionally supported, secure in her own value, and confident about her future helps her overcome the internal conflict she struggles with throughout the novel. Once she has accomplished this, she is rewarded with financial success, which she is now poised to properly appreciate.
The Impact of Societal Expectations on Personal Choices
The theme of societal expectations works in tandem with those of wealth and authenticity, as both Lottie and Huxley feel pressure to conform to a particular ideal of success. Although the novel ultimately endorses certain aspects of this ideal—e.g., the drive for independence—it suggests that others can negatively impact individuals’ lives and relationships with others.
Lottie begins the novel feeling insecure because she lives in her mother’s house, which not only burdens her mother but also reflects on Lottie’s professional and financial circumstances. A major contributor to her situation is an antagonist, Angela, who misuses her socioeconomic privilege to manipulate Lottie, disregards the urgency of Lottie’s financial needs, and fires Lottie once her own needs are met. However, while it is Angela who is overtly in the wrong, Lottie still feels an obligation to prove her affluence and professional acumen, which she resolves to do by obtaining a handsome, wealthy boyfriend and bringing him to the upcoming class reunion organized by Angela. Her goal suggests the simultaneous pressure she feels to attain a certain standard of living and to secure a conventional (monogamous, heterosexual, etc.) romantic relationship. While she ends the novel with both, her initial motivations are nevertheless framed as misguided; it is important, for example, that her relationship reflect genuine love rather than insecurity.
The pressure of societal expectations also affects Huxley. Despite being accustomed to financial comfort, Huxley nevertheless feels obliged to curate a certain image of wealth: Several of the arguments between Lottie and Huxley over the course of the deal originate in Huxley’s controlling behavior as he tries to ensure Lottie looks and behaves like a woman from his class background. Given the pressure he feels to flaunt the markers of his affluence, his gift of the concert T-shirt marks a significant moment of character development, as it’s the kind of casual clothing more commonly associated with the working or middle classes. In his professional life, Huxley also feels he must maintain a cold exterior because he feels it necessary to do good business (a belief the novel challenges through Dave, who values a more personable approach). Throughout the novel, he is deeply concerned with presenting what he believes is an essential façade, which he only overcomes when his resolve is undermined by his affection for Lottie.
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