Margo's Got Money Troubles

Rufi Thorpe infuses many details from her life and experiences into the characters and themes that populate her books, including Margo’s Got Money Troubles. Though the novel is fictional, it shares many similarities with Thorpe’s life. Thorpe grew up in Southern California as the only child of a single mother—this is something she shares with Margo Millet, the protagonist of this book (“Bio.” Rufi Thorpe). Additionally, Thorpe was conceived as the result of a one-night stand, just like Margo (McClellan, Martin. “Talking to Rufi Thorpe about Writing, Understanding People, and Iris Murdoch, by Martin McClellan.” The Seattle Review of Books, 29 Apr. 2020). Like Margo, Thorpe, too, has experience waitressing (“Bio”). However, in the novel, it is Margo, rather than Shyanne (Margo’s mother), who echoes Thorpe’s mother’s parenting style. Thorpe has talked about how her grandmother was not a good parent, and her mother had to struggle through parenting Thorpe alone in the early years (McClellan); this dynamic is reminiscent of the relationship between Shyanne and Margo in the book.

Thorpe’s experiences with the women in her family inspired her to explore the complexities of parenting, particularly focusing on women’s choices that society might label as “good” or “bad.” Thorpe discusses how her background inspired her to explore “women failing to be good women. Not being able to perform the role as they understand it” (McClellan). This struggle is central to Margo’s journey in the book, as she makes a series of unconventional choices that challenge societal expectations: First, she has an affair with her married professor; then, she gets pregnant and chooses to have the baby, although she is unwed and only 19; she drops out of college to raise the baby alone; and finally, she enters what many people would consider sex work to support herself and her son. Throughout these experiences, Margo grapples with the question of whether she is a good person or not.

Since Thorpe focuses on the perceptions of morality that dictate women’s choices, Margo is portrayed as a multi-dimensional character who is also extremely perceptive about the nuances in people around her. This is evident in the psychological evaluation Margo receives in the book, and it also reflects Thorpe’s own psychological depth. Thorpe has said that in her life, she has had to navigate several difficult relationships. For instance, she was raised by grandparents who were abusive and struggled with addiction. Thorpe’s life experiences lead her to write characters who do “bad” things but are neither excused for this behavior nor wholly condemned for it. This results in characters like Margo, who breaks social norms and faces some consequences for doing so, like the bureaucratic nightmare she is stuck in and the fallout in her personal relationships; however, she also experiences some triumphs. Another flawed character in the novel is Jinx, who is a loving and supportive father to Margo and an involved grandfather to Bodhi, although he is an addict. Even Shyanne, who is depicted as selfish and shallow, is someone whom Margo nevertheless loves and, in some ways, even understands. Despite Margo’s anger at Shyanne’s actions, she resolves to make up with her mother at the end of the book.

Thorpe’s talent for creating real, flawed characters without judgment stems from her deep interest in perspective. She professes that “how people see each other and their misapprehensions of each other” are interesting to her, as are “the ways that we see each other change over time” (McClellan). This interest is evident in the narrative style Thorpe adopts in the book, as well as in how she develops the characters. For instance, there are clear discrepancies between how characters behave and how they view themselves. In one example, Mark, the father of Margo’s child, accuses her of being an unfit mother, despite the fact that he abandoned her and his child after Margo discovered she was pregnant.

Thorpe also explores how self-perception changes over time by subtly distinguishing between Margo the narrator and Margo the character. The narrator describes events that happened to a past version of herself, suggesting a distinction between the narrator’s current self and former self. Overall, Margo’s Got Money Troubles is an exploration of themes, ideas, and experiences that are directly derived from Thorpe’s life and worldviews.