Arcadia

Arcadia by Lauren Groff is a contemporary literary novel published by Hyperion Books in 2012. The novel traces protagonist Bit’s life in the titular Arcadia from childhood to adulthood. It considers important questions about human nature, society, and responsibility to oneself and others.

Lauren Groff is the New York Times bestselling author of five novels and two collections of short stories. Groff is a Guggenheim Fellow.

This guide is based on the edition published by Hyperion Books (2012).

Content Warning: Arcadia mentions sexual abuse and harassment, implied miscarriage, infant death, and death by suicide, and depicts child endangerment, depression, drug abuse, unclear sexual consent, and assisted suicide.

Plot Summary

Bit is a young boy who lives in a New York commune named Arcadia. He is lauded as the first Arcadian because he is the first child born within the community, in 1968. As a child, the myths of Arcadia’s conception inform his sense of self: Arcadia is a small community full of people who love Bit and take care of him. By age five, he starts to conceptualize the world in profound, sometimes confusing ways. He is confused about his mother’s depression that leaves her bedridden and unable to care for him. For Bit, his mother, Hannah, and father, Abe, are the center of his world. However, Arcadia proves a community with strict expectations, and Hannah’s depression leaves her unable to contribute. While Abe works to renovate the dilapidated mansion on Arcadia’s property (Arcadia House), Hannah struggles. The ethos of Arcadia includes radical autonomy, veganism, free love, lack of individual possession, and lack of hierarchy. In practice, Handy, the musician who brought the people of Arcadia together, is the leader, and he is threatened by Abe’s ability to rally everyone to renovate Arcadia House—a lifesaver for the hungry, poor community. On his own, Bit discovers a book of fairy tales. This book jumpstarts his curiosity and passion for reading. Abe ends up “sacrificing” himself for Arcadia, as he stumbles and falls off Arcadia House’s roof during construction.

By age 14, Bit is still intelligent and kind, but the Arcadia he once loved is falling apart. It has grown to include hundreds of people but is struggling because resources are scarce and the community mission has been compromised. The influx of newcomers and rumors of Arcadia growing marijuana have made it a prime target for local and state police. Meanwhile, Bit is struggling with his feelings for Helle, Handy’s daughter, a girl whom he has known since childhood. Helle left Arcadia for a few months to explore the Outside. When she returns, she is sexualized by both herself and others. Bit is intimidated by her but wants to grow closer. Many Arcadians, including Hannah and Abe (who survived his fall but is handicapped), have fallen out of love with their leader, Handy. He lauds Arcadia’s freedom and lack of hierarchy, but doesn’t work and makes decisions for the commune, spending his days doing drugs and having sex with young women. Hannah and Abe have a Pot Plot, a hidden plot of high-quality marijuana grown in case of future poverty. Bit and Helle grow closer and eventually have sex; he tells her about the Pot Plot. One of Arcadia’s holidays brings many outsiders interested in partying, and the night turns into debauchery. Bit watches two men pressure Helle into having sex; he is uncertain how to help her. Hannah discovers the Pot Plot was raided, and Bit knows Helle is likely to blame, but doesn’t know how to confront her. The night ends in a boy’s death, which brings police to Arcadia. The police arrest hundreds, including Handy, who serves prison time for many crimes. Arcadia crumbles, as hundreds leave and the community runs out of food. Helle and her brothers are sent to live with their grandmother in Norway while Handy serves prison time and their mother, Astrid, a midwife, works Outside. After trying to save Arcadia, Bit and his parents also leave.

Bit, Hannah, and Abe move to Queens, New York. The move is traumatic for Abe, as the city streets are devoid of the beautiful nature that characterized Arcadia. Bit falls into a depression similar to Hannah’s. He is briefly institutionalized and prescribed anti-depression medication. During this stay, he discovers photography. This passion helps Bit compartmentalize and create stories. Eventually, he recovers and acclimates to the Outside. He keeps in touch with Jincy, a friend from Arcadia, and through him learns about Helle’s career as a model. Years pass, and Bit becomes a professional artist. When he and Helle are in their 30s, Helle attends one of his gallery events in New York. They fall in love and get married. Helle has struggled with drug addiction and the traumas of Arcadia, but Bit believes she has overcome the worst of it. They have a daughter named Grete, and Bit takes on reliable work as a photography professor. When Grete is three, Helle disappears, and Bit is heartbroken. He hires a private detective to track Helle, but she is never heard from again. By this time, Handy is out of prison and married to his fourth wife. Helen and Abe are back in Arcadia because Leif, Handy’s oldest son, inherited the land. Leif made Arcadia into a corporate center for his movie business, but when he disappears, former Arcadians like Hannah and Abe return to build houses and live in nature once more. Bit is still in touch with many Arcadians, but none of them have heard from Helle. He visits Helle’s ex-husband, Ilya, to figure out if he has seen her. Ilya is dying; he leaves Bit a brownstone house and money in his will.

Years pass, and the Earth is destroyed by climate change and pandemics. Millions flee the coast, and a new airborne virus kills thousands in Indonesia. Grete is 14 and struggling with her identity and emotions. Abe has helped build a bunker in Bit’s brownstone in Philadelphia, equipped with resources including guns. Suddenly, Bit receives a phone call from the hospital: For a year, Hannah has been silently struggling with ALS. She and Abe initially tried to die by suicide, but she alone survived.

Bit and Grete relocate to Arcadia for a few months to look after Hannah. Members of the community, including Astrid, show up to help. Hannah’s condition worsens, but she comes to terms with her depression and life without Abe. A local doctor named Ellis pays home visits to Hannah. She and Bit fall in love. Grete struggles with moving and starting a new school, but finds purpose in her high school’s track team. Meanwhile, the virus in Indonesia has spread around the world. Thousands die in moments, and the world goes into quarantine. In Arcadia, which has returned to wilderness after Leif’s disappearance, people are safe. Hannah dies slowly until finally Astrid gives her enough morphine to kill her. Meanwhile, Bit comes to terms with his childhood and forgives his parents for their suicide attempt. When the pandemic is over, Bit, Grete, and Ellis return to Philadelphia—with Bit having found peace.