We Need to Talk About Kevin Chapter 6: December 9, 2000 Summary

How It All Goes Down

  • Eva recalls a prison-time chat she had with Kevin, when he accused her of never wanting him.
  • "I thought I did," she says. "And your father, he wanted you—desperately" (6.3).
  • Kevin is insulted by the "thought she did" business.
  • Eva tries to explain that motherhood was harder than she expected—and that she never formed an automatic attachment to him.
  • Flashback time.
  • Eva and Franklin kept their own last names when they married. She, Khatchadourian. He, Plaskett.
  • Eva and Franklin decide that if it's a girl, she'll be a Plaskett. If it's a boy, he'll be a Khatchadourian.
  • We make that decision seem easy, but Eva and Franklin actually argue about it for a while. It's the first of many arguments that strain their marriage.