Written August 7, 2023
tldr.... Victor can be a nice guy and it's usually, no, ESPECIALLY when it comes to Chloe. they don't have a perfect relationship, but they fared better than the other couples in Ellis's novels
it’s hard to appreciate their relationship because their best moments happen when plot-heavy things are going on, or are mentioned offhand. the story catches them in a bad time, with Victor cheating on her and valuing the reputation of her name more than her as a person
“What do you see in that poor little girl besides a staggering intellect?” is what Alison asks Victor. Chloe is the only person that wants Victor to better himself, while still staying by his side. it’s evident that no other person has done that for Victor, his only other relationships remaining surface level, the other party only wanting him for his appearance
I would tell [Jamie] “I’m not looking for a serious relationship” and she would stare back at me like I was insane, as if I wasn’t capable of one in the first place. [...] She forgave me for a lot of flaws because I was “simply too good-looking.”
because while it’s easy for Victor to get anyone he wants, the first interaction he has with Chloe is essentially her telling him to fuck off
When I looked over at Chloe, she shrugged. I observed the shrug. She mouthed the words Take … a … hike ….
this shows that Chloe didn’t reciprocate his advances just because of his appearance
they even have, in a warped sort of way, a love song playing when Victor decides to go for Chloe that predicts their relationship. “Last Day of Our Acquaintance” by Sinéad O’Connor outlines a person looking back at when their relationship was full of love, as they finalize their divorce
the acquaintanceship in the song refers to the acquaintance having once been someone they used to love and know. in Glamorama’s context, it refers to the beginning, instead of the end. before this day, Victor and Chloe have little to no idea of the other’s existence. the song resonates the most in the lines, “And since then you have taken me for granted” and “I'll talk but you won't listen to me” showing Chloe’s eventual dissatisfaction
could the song also show a possibility of how their relationship ended if Victor never became trapped in a conspiracy? Victor did plan to marry Chloe... 😢 (and also shares a similar plot to another Ellis book)
“And she says thanks for the flowers.”“What flowers?” I ask.
[...]
Pause. “I didn’t … send the flowers, Victor.”
Pause. My turn. “Well, I didn’t send the flowers.”
Pause. “There was a card, Victor. It said, ‘Ain’t no woman like the one I’ve got’ and ‘Baby, I’m-a want you, Baby, I’m-a need you.’” JD looks at the floor, then back at me. “That sounds like you.”
“Oh my god, you’re such an absolute dick,” [Alison] groans. “You spoke to me at the Alfaro show, baby.” She glares cross-eyed while thrusting her tongue in and out of my mouth. “Barely, but you spoke.”when Victor leaves New York, that’s when the impersonator is able to strike.
“That day you called me out of the blue?” she asks. “It was a Sunday and you called me, Victor. I’d just gotten back from Canyon Ranch. I met you at Jerry’s? Remember? In SoHo? We sat in a booth in the back? You talked about going to NYU?” She pauses, staring at me wide-eyed. “Then we went back to my place . …” She looks away. She softly says, “We had sex, then you left, whatever [...] you just never called me again and … oh forget it, Victor—it’s all in the past, right? I mean, isn’t it?”(and yeah, this confession bothers me because she doesn’t recognize a difference. maybe their outing was short enough that Chloe couldn’t realize something was off about him ?)
the true extent of these feelings come out when he thinks Chloe is planning on ODing
I cry out and try to run back into the lobby but crew members are struggling to hold me back and I’m crying out “No but why but why this wasn’t in the script” until I collapse and a technician props me up on the steps where I’m still freaking out and shouting “But you don’t understand you don’t understand” and suddenly the director kneels beside me and gently tells the two crew members to let go, that it’s okay, shhh.it’s the first of Victor’s many freakouts. these reality breaks have amplified post-club opening, and now the mentions of film crew have increasedI’m shaking so hard the director has to hold my face in his hands, steadying it, before he can talk to me. Basically summing things up, he asks, “Do you really want to go back up there?” I’m shaking so hard I can’t answer him. “Do you really want to go back up there?” he asks again. “Is this something your character would do?”
but this is the first interaction between Victor and the director that doubt the existence of a script. until now, the script has been accepted as part of Victor's reality
While I’m processing this information the cameraman keeps circling the pay phone, distracting me into forgetting my lines, so I decide to improvise and surprisingly the director allows it.
...the director, getting fed up with me, hisses “Look anguished” and I try to but I’m just vaguely unhappy.in the context of Ellis novels, it’s also the first real reaction a narrator gives to someone possibly dying. (unless i’m forgetting something in Less than Zero, lol). and this isn’t even anything real, this is just Victor knowing his girlfriend and her past
compare this to a scene in The Rules of Attraction, where a boy is concerned that his friend may have ODed. when told about what has happened, the narrator only says: “He’s just a Freshman. Freshmen don’t O.D.”
a similar situation occurs when Bobby threatens Chloe
throughout the hostage situation, Victor follows Bobby’s orders with little to no complaints. any pushback is done behind Bobby’s back, from a safe distance. Victor questions Bobby’s terrorism, but he never openly rebels against him, until Chloe comes into the picture. he even MAKES SURE that Bobby heard his threat
“I like Chloe Byrnes,” Bobby says. “She’s not afraid to embrace her sensuality,” he murmurs. “Amazing body.” Pause. “Quite … distracting.” He laughs darkly.because of Chloe, Victor begins to fight to break out of the script that Bobby has him playing. up until this point, Victor has been blindly following orders from others, a quality of Victor's character Bobby takes advantage of“If you ever touch her, Bobby, I swear to god I will fucking kill you, I swear to god,” I say, enunciating each word.
“Ooh, how confrontational,” Bentley giggles.
[...]
“Did you hear me, Bobby?” I ask.
Bobby keeps giggling and then, in a very tight voice, squeezing my thigh, says, “You have neither the clout nor the experience to make a threat like that, Victor.”
Bobby, in one of his “barely tolerant” moods, asks me, “Where are you going?”... it’s just too bad that once Victor is with Chloe, he lets his guard down. his trust in her is taken advantage of“To see Chloe,” I say, stiffly walking past him to the kitchen. I force myself to peer into the refrigerator, struggling to be casual, a very hard moment. Outside, lightning flickers and then, on cue, thunder sounds.
Bobby’s considering what I just said. “Are you trying to rescue her?” he muses. “Or are you trying to rescue yourself?” He pauses. “That’s not really a solution,” he says, and then, less sweetly, “Is it?”
“I’m just going to make sure everything’s okay with her.”
“I think that’s another movie,” Bobby says. “And I think you’re confused.”
“I’ve gotta go.”if anyone other than Chloe told Victor to adhere to the script again, he wouldn’t have listened. Victor trusting her is what leads to her death“What?” she asks, sitting up.
“I’ve gotta get my stuff,” I say in a controlled voice. “I’m moving out of the house. I’m coming back here.”
[...]
“Just wait here. I’ll be right back.”
At the door, something shifts in me and I turn around.
“Unless … you want to come with me?” I ask.
“How long will you be?” She’s holding the script again, flipping through it.
“An hour. Probably less. Maybe forty minutes.”
“Actually,” she says, “I think I’m supposed to stay here.”
“Why?”
“I think I’m supposed to shoot a scene.”
“What am I supposed to do?” I ask.
“I think”—Chloe squints at the script and then, looking up—“you’re supposed to go.”
in a way, Bobby did listen to Victor’s threat to not touch her. she’s killed with non-contact means and with Mifepristone, a medication used to stop a pregnancy
Bobby could have used anything. but choosing to use an abortion pill on Chloe, who is pregnant and really did want kids.. brutal shit
I order a bowl of raspberry sorbet and try to cheer Chloe up by turning it into a Prince song: “She ate a raspberry sorbet … The kind you find at the Bowery Bar …”