S.W.A.L.K.

Shaping Up

The recriminations over the mural are resolved, but Amanda's personal dilemma is not. Her growing impatience with Patti turns to intolerance as she comes to understand where her romantic notions end-and the price that must be paid for them. Katherine reluctantly consents to her baby being christened. However, it is a capitulation, not just to the demands of society, but to the knowledge that her own youth has ended. Amanda for her part sees the careers officer at school. Instead of providing solutions, he causes her to question herself. She finally realizes that only she can provide the answers. In this sense too, her youth has ended. This fact is confirmed when she destroys all her romantic teenage magazine and Patti is relegated to the dustbin where she belongs.