Sweetbitter

Tess continues to feel that she is losing control of her life because of her restaurant role and party habits, highlighting the theme of Self-Discovery. When she and Jake start hooking up regularly, her life becomes more structured. She studies the wine atlas, reads, spends time with Jake, and works hard at her job. Tess is finding her rhythm. In accepting her loss of control, Tess is discovering what she wants from her life in the moment. This is part of Tess’s coming-of-age arch; she is young and does not have major responsibilities. She gets to live a life devoted to her pleasures, but repeated warnings about getting too involved with Jake and Simone foreshadow that Tess is living too recklessly. While she is happier and her life is more structured, she does not interrogate or reflect on the direction of her life.

Jake is the first one to tell Tess that she is not meeting her full potential, a slow and steady realization that highlights the themes of Self-Discovery and Disillusionment and Experience. Jake’s analysis of Tess—that she leans into her looks and doesn’t use her intelligent mind—is unkind and ironic given their sexual connection. But Tess is like a sponge; she soaks up what other people say and think about her, which emphasizes that she still hasn’t developed her own Self-Discovery. The process of her character development relies heavily on the opinions and interpretations of others, particularly Jake and Simone. While Tess may not be meeting her full potential, she cannot yet comprehend what that potential is. Tess’s world is myopically focused on the restaurant and on modeling herself after Simone. The restaurant makes the enormous city of New York smaller, and Tess primarily operates within that one setting. Thus, the restaurant is both a place of major growth and a place in which potential can be stifled, as could be said for a character like Simone. Moreover, Tess is intelligent, but she does not yet have the tools to combat her sexualization in the workplace. The men at the restaurant want to sleep with her, and despite having a real connection with Jake, he too makes their relationship about sex. As a young woman discovering herself, this sexualized identity interferes with her growth, prompting Tess to focus too heavily on her relationship with Jake and perhaps allowing more sexualization than she is truly comfortable with.

Part 3 is subtitled “Winter.” Winters in New York City are known to be rough—the city gets dirtied by the slush of melting snow, and the continued gray can be weary. Moreover, winter often represents sorrow, death, and a resting period in preparation for the rebirth of spring. For Tess, winter is a time of pleasure because of her new relationship with Jake. So, perhaps, like winter snow or ice, Tess’s life is still and quiet because of her newfound focus in her life. She even improves at work in spite of the melancholy of winter.

When Howard reveals that he plans on promoting Tess, thus bringing her one step closer to becoming more like Simone, it marks a significant plot development and moment of character growth, which highlights both Self-Discovery and The Restaurant Industry and Broader Societal Issues. The promotion is indicative of Tess uncovering her potential and learning her growing role within the restaurant itself.

With regard to romantic Self-Discovery, Tess is happy with Jake, but their relationship is complicated. It is not a defined relationship because Jake remains characteristically aloof. Tess recognizes that Jake often does not seem to realize or care that she is in the same room as him. For Tess, the intense moments of passion with Jake are more important than his emotional distance. Moreover, there is a hint of violence in their sexual connection, indicating Jake’s danger. Tess is so entranced by the experience of passionate sex that she ignores the reality of the situation, thus highlighting the theme of Disillusionment and Experience. Further, the specter of Simone haunts their relationship. Tess is still entranced by Simone and wants to grow closer to both Jake and Simone; she sees a pathway to one through the other. On the one hand, Tess fantasizes about traveling far away with Jake, leaving Simone behind. This implies that Tess is jealous of the history Simone and Jake have together. On the other hand, Tess wants Jake to talk about Simone, implying that she wants to establish intimacy. However, there are many facts about Simone’s past with Jake that are unclear. Tess mistakenly hopes that she can become a trio with Jake and Simone, but it is clear that their shared and mysterious history is more important than Tess realizes.