Ye Olde Arch-Nemesis

One resounding theme in Picture Perfect is the “arch-nemesis” theme. Hannah, the main character, still battles feelings of angst whenever her high school arch-nemesis, Jacquie “Practically Perfect in Every Way” Goldfarb is mentioned.

Check out this scene from chapter four to get a clearer picture of what I mean:

My life flashed before my eyes. Well, not really my whole life—but crazy, minuscule snatches of it. I saw the many times I’d come a quarter-inch shy of succeeding. Well, no more. Not this time.

I pushed a button on the dash, instigating a call to my best friend. Scarlet answered after the third ring with a chipper, “Hey, Hannah. I was just thinking about you. What’s up?”

            “Jacquie Goldfarb.” I spoke the words with a tremor.

            Silence followed on the other end of the phone, followed by an eventual, “Who’s that?”

            “Jacquie Goldfarb.” A sigh resonated from my end. “She was my arch-nemesis in high school.”

            “O-okay?”

            “Everything I wanted, she got. The position on the drill team. First chair in choir. The guy I wanted to date. She got it all. I always came in second to Jacquie Goldfarb.” I paused, my thoughts whirling as memories overtook me. “And now Drew Kincaid is my Jacquie Goldfarb. He gets the clients. He gets the accolades. He gets Bella’s nod for top photographer on the island. He gets. . .” Deep sigh. “Everything.”

            “He gets the guy you want to date?”

            “No. You’re missing my point. He’s going to come out on top and I’m going to fail. Again.”

            “Where are you, Hannah?” The tone of Scarlet’s voice changed. Now she was all business. I could almost picture her tossing those messy auburn curls over her shoulder and placing balled-up fists on her ample hips.

            “On my way to the studio. Almost there, actually.”

            “Perfect. I’ll meet you there.” With a click, she disappeared.

As you can see, Hannah struggles with her feelings regarding Jacquie Goldfarb. No matter how hard she tries, her old arch-nemesis always seemed to come out on top.

What about you? Do you have an old arch-nemesis? Someone who always got whatever they wanted? Have you kept up with this person? If so, how did he/she turn out? Just a few questions to ponder.

I will leave you with this: Who is your Jacquie Goldfarb?