The Caretaker: A Novel

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, child death, death by suicide, mental illness, and ableism.

Love and commitment impact several characters throughout the novel, suggesting that devotion to another person is admirable as long as it respects that person’s autonomy. The love between Jacon and Naomi is genuine and powerful. When forced to choose between maintaining a relationship with his parents and his marriage to Naomi, Jacob chose the latter. He finds his parents’ disapproval of Naomi misguided and rejected their attempt to use his inheritance to control his choices. His love for and commitment to Naomi outweigh any benefits that wealth might bring. His parents, in turn, have worked hard and made wise financial choices so that Jacob can live a prosperous life. They view his marriage to Naomi as a betrayal: Because she is perceived as belonging to a lower social stratum, they see his relationship with her as a rejection of the status they have worked to build. Like Jacob, Naomi has demonstrated the same kind of commitment by willingly marrying Jacob despite the loss of his future financial security. Her commitment to him extends beyond his (supposed) death, as Naomi is willing to risk violating the legal mandate of the Hamptons by visiting Jacob’s gravesite.