Chapter 9, Girls Summary and Analysis

Much of chapter nine tells the story of a girl Miller observes in a coffee shop. After arriving, he watches the girl break up with her boyfriend. Following this, she enters the coffee shop, befriends a new boy and gives him her number. Before he leaves the store, she runs into a girlfriend and, forgetting the new boy, begins to chat.

Miller returns home, does several chores and goes out to a second coffee shop to write. While he works there, the same girl walks in, with a third boy. After they share a pastry, she breaks up with this boy also.

Miller admits he used to be attracted to the dating "game." He sought a girl for the validation she brought to his ego. Often, she lost her attraction once he attained the relationship. A married friend confesses...