High Fidelity: Chapters 14-21

In this section, Rob goes back to speak with all of his ex-girlfriends. What answers is he looking for? Does he get them? What does the outcome of this exercise tell you about Rob?

Within this reading, Rob confronts all of his previous girlfriends to find out why they dumped him or in other words to get a sense from their prospectives how and why their relationship came to a close. These meetings were intended to help Rob's obsession of the past and to finally tell each girl a proper farewell. Like I assumed, the girls moved on and most likely didn't need a proper goodbye from a guy they dated a while ago. But, for Rob's own good, he had to do this because if not, it would drive him insane since he likes to dwell in his past rather than living in the present. So, he eventually makes his way and meets up with all the ex-girlfriends that broke up with him. He finally knows for sure how each one is doing and says a proper goodbye. But, when he just wanted to talk with them, it didn't turn out the way he thought it was gonna be. However, there were a few that did give him the answers he was looking for. For instance, Charlie told him right up front what Rob didn't have while they were together. She said that she knew he felt like they were totally different people. She knew that he thought she was much more beautiful than he was. And, he only thought that way because he didn't have enough self-confidence. This really helped Rob because he got to hear someone else tell him what they thought and how their thoughts compared to his own. Rob is hearing more and more that he doesn't have spectacular qualities that make him stand out. He's average or normal. And, now that he knows that for sure... he might approach life in a different way.