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Henry Lefebvre’s thesis on the everyday is very paradoxical. He claims that it is a set of functions which we as a society produce, and it structures the way we live. It is repetitive and cyclical, yet changing. In looking at the life of Alice in “Cusp,� we get a clear example of how her world is routine, yet non-static in the way that she is aging. The women in her life act the same day in and day out, and as Alice becomes a young adult she is expected to act the same.

Alice’s mother is a single parent, trying to maintain a stable living situation for her son and daughter. She deals with a lot of stress trying to balance her work and home life. Alice is old enough to see and understand this, and it no doubt has an effect on her perception of the responsibilities of women (and perhaps the lack thereof for men). The mother also tries to impress this upon her, as it is seen when she demands Alice to help with the dishes. She takes an authoritative tone which says “you will do it because I am your mother and I said so,� yet the reasoning she gives Alice is that she needs to help because she needs to be adult-like. The mother positions her as a child, but at the same time tells her she’s practically an adult. Alice is never allowed to be both at the same time—the people around her are constantly pushing and pulling her in both directions.

Power is taken away from Alice when she is designated as a child, which frustrates her, yet her responsibilities as an (adult) woman also make her uncomfortable. She is told she needs to keep a beautiful appearance (by the family friend and her classmates) and assume more responsibilities in the home and with men. It’s no wonder that the “everyday� of puberty is a frustrating and confusing Henry Lefebvre world.