48 pages • 1 hour read
K.J. Dell'AntoniaThe Chicken Sisters
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Family Feuds and Reconciliation
Strife between family members creates an imbalance in the dynamics between individual characters and the entire family unit, causing the characters’ daily lives to be negatively impacted by the turmoil. By introducing the conflict between Mimi and Frannie at the beginning of the text, which took place in the late 1800s, the novel depicts how long-standing family feuds can disrupt relationships even in future generations. When Barbara blocks Amanda from entering Mimi’s after her honeymoon with Frank, she tells Amanda, “It’s not me, Amanda. You know the way this works. You’ve always known. Did you really think you could have both?” (51). Within this question, Barbara summarizes the prolonged rift between Mimi’s and Frannie’s families that expands past the bounds of time. Barbara questions why Amanda believes that she could be present at both restaurants, not only because of the family rivalry, but the financial one as well. Knowing that the Pogociello family has attempted to buy not only her home but also her restaurant, Barbara views Amanda’s marriage as a betrayal. Although Amanda chooses to marry out of her love for Frank, she loses her relationship with her mother even though she does not understand the deep-rooted plight between Barbara and the older Franks. Because this feud has such a long-standing existence between several generations, the root cause of the issue becomes convoluted and hard to pinpoint, complicating attempts to reconcile.
Only after learning that Frannie and Mimi did not have a rivalry between their restaurants are both families able to reconcile their differences for the benefit of all. By doing so, The Chicken Sisters, referring to both the novel and the business venture, represents the ability for family feuds to not only end, but to rectify themselves through communication. In the note Mimi left for Frannie, she wrote, “[…] I wish you much luck […] Do not worry about the loan yet and do not tell him. This money and Frannie’s are yours” (272). With this knowledge, the women in the family learn that the rivalry between Mimi’s and Frannie’s stemmed not from the sisters, but from a disagreement between Mimi and Frannie’s husband. This allows the women to recognize that their feud does not have any merit. It also presents the knowledge that the older Franks knew about the money Frannie’s owed Mimi’s, which Nancy is determined to make right.
Overall, the novel illustrates that the appearance of a situation does not always reflect reality, but misunderstandings about facts can have long-standing repercussions. By joining forces and discussing the truth behind the feud, the women in both families are able to not only rectify their individual relationships with each other, but also the financial issues within the businesses.
The Influence of Reality Television on Personal Narratives
The Food Wars competition illustrates how personal narratives can be manipulated to provide entertainment for viewers without concern for the contestants’ well-beings or realities. The narrative reveals how this genre of television operates: When contestants agree to be on the show, the production team has permission to portray them in any way they want, according to their contract. Throughout the novel, Sabrina attempts to create strife and tension between Mimi’s and Frannie’s, and more specifically, between Amanda and Mae, because of its appeal to viewers. Sabrina admits to this when she says that the contestants “all agreed to provide conflict” because it is “what the network wants” (338). Within this sentiment, reality television serves to provide entertainment through the lens of conflict, without concern for how this conflict affects those involved. Jay even goes as far as to acknowledge that the production team has “the right to frame the footage [they] record into any narrative [they] wish” (339). Jay’s straightforward acknowledgment of this mirrors the novel’s critical attitude toward reality television and its impacts on participants as it depicts the ways the genre skews viewers’ perceptions and even those involved in the show itself. When Sabrina learns that Mae and Amanda have decided to merge their restaurants, her biggest concern is how the viewers and the network will respond to the lack of conflict between the businesses. However, her comment that “they’ll make this work” implies the degree to which producers can frame a narrative into something that she thinks will be more appealing (339). Although the intention of Food Wars appears to be straightforward and focused on the restaurants, the personal narratives of the characters play a much larger role in the content of the show.
When Mae and Amanda begin to enact ploys on the other to better their chances at winning, they are ultimately attempting to improve their portrayal on television. At the same time, they also attempt to manipulate how they view themselves as individuals. For example, “all the fury” Mae feels for Amanda comes out when she forces her out of Mimi’s and then paints over her chicken on Mimi’s sign (141). By painting over her sign, Mae attempts to erase Amanda from the history of Mimi’s entirely, ultimately altering the narrative of the restaurant and its connection to Amanda. Even further, Amanda’s decision to tell Sabrina that Mae allows Barbara to live in “filth and her hoarding” (203) is Amanda’s attempt to remove the focus on her having potentially stolen Mimi’s fried chicken recipe to instead highlight Barbara’s hoarding problem. This allows Amanda to influence the narrative that Food Wars tells, diverting the focus from food to their personal lives. Sabrina’s attempts at trying to get the sisters to reveal information about each restaurant illustrate how reality TV manipulates personal narratives, while the perspectives of Mae and Amanda illustrate how they want to control their own stories when being portrayed on screen.
The Struggle Between Personal Ambition and Familial Responsibility
Throughout the novel, the characters struggle to balance their personal desires and their responsibilities to their families. At the beginning of the novel, Mae’s desire to grow her brand as a social media influencer, reality television host, and author trumps her familial responsibilities. Mae’s priorities lie within her business and her appearance as a “married with children” professional who balances her job and her home (24). However, Mae’s home life, both in New York City and in Merinac, illustrates that she does not necessarily balance work and home because her focus remains on how she can “leverage” one opportunity into another. As the novel progresses, Mae discovers that her family, including Jay and her kids, need more of her time and attention. She also utilizes her skills as a guru of organization and minimalism to help her mother and create a better environment for her mother and her dogs, which prioritizes her family’s needs. At the end of the novel, Mae further leans into helping her family while pursuing her dreams by choosing to return to Merinac for good: “With the faintest, fastest possible glance back at Amanda, Mae shot a wholly genuine grin at the camera and spoke. ‘And, we’re back’” (341). In this moment, the novel solidifies the family’s relationship with each other and depicts a unified group. At the same time, it also allows Mae to capitalize on her strengths for the benefit of all. Throughout the novel, Mae discovers that her own personal ambitions can also benefit those around her, creating a balance between her desires and her familial responsibilities.
On the other hand, Amanda spends most of the novel prioritizing her family’s needs over her own. She chooses to position her dreams as secondary to her children and to Nancy because she feels as though her personal ambitions are not as important as everyone else’s needs and desires. Rather than fully embracing her art, Amanda spends her time running Frannie’s with Nancy to keep her late husband’s and father-in-law’s dreams for the restaurant alive. Although Amanda feels like she “might be ready to—try something new” regarding her career, she continues to work at Chicken Frannie’s for Nancy and her children (304). She does not feel as though she can have a career through her artwork, which is her true passion, so her entire life revolves around her family. She does not even stay at home while her children are at school because she struggles to be there alone, implying that she chooses to deprioritize herself. However, at the end of the novel, Amanda discovers her own balance between her familial responsibilities and her desires when she decides to go back to school to pursue a career in art and merge Frannie’s and Mimi’s restaurants to give herself the freedom to do so.
