48 pages • 1 hour read
Maybe Someday
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Symbols & Motifs
Heartbeat
As the physical expression of life, the heartbeat represents passion. The quickening of a heartbeat conveys a sense of excitement that exudes desire and communicates a message to the listener. Throughout the novel, Ridge and Sydney listen to each other’s heartbeat as a means of connection and as a symbol of their passionate love. As a person who is deaf, Ridge uses Sydney’s heartbeat to help him feel Sydney singing as they write music together. To do this, he lays his head against Sydney’s chest, creating a physical intimacy between them. Before they kiss for the first time, he imagines her breath sounds “like how a heartbeat feels,” which conveys the passion that radiates between them (190).
Later, when Ridge tries to convince Sydney to abandon her plans for independent living and begin a relationship, he forces her to “relax against his chest, finding the rhythm of his heartbeat” and shares with her the significance of his heartbeat as the only sound in his silent world (360). In sharing the effect she had on his heart the first time he saw her, Ridge expresses the undeniable passion between them that continues to draw them together. He admits that his heartbeat taught him “who my heart craves more,” which allows Sydney to finally accept Ridge’s declaration of his love for her over Maggie and makes her open to pursuing a relationship with him (368). Their passion for each other is consummated in the final moments of the novel as they begin to have sex and focus on each other’s heartbeats. The passion of their lovemaking matches the beat of their hearts until “our hearts are perfectly in sync” (403). As the physical expression of their love, Sydney and Ridge’s heartbeats reflect the ardor that defines their relationship.
Writer’s Block
Ridge struggles with the writer’s block that haunts him for weeks prior to meeting Sydney. A block of creative inspiration, writer’s block hinders Ridge from accessing his emotions and transforming them into music. It is his writer’s block that compels Ridge to reach out to Sydney and ask her to share her lyrics with him. Little does Ridge know that his connection with Sydney will unravel his writer’s block through the development of their passionate relationship.
Initially, Ridge guides Sydney through the songwriting process. As their relationship grows more intimate, Ridge adds lyrics to their songs, most notably “Maybe Someday.” Inspired by his feelings for Sydney, Ridge feels passion once again. Five years into his relationship with Maggie, he unknowingly struggles to feel the inspiration that songwriting requires. Sydney’s entrance into Ridge’s life unravels the steadfast stability that defines his relationship with Maggie and upends his future plans.
When Sydney rejects Ridge’s pleas to begin a relationship in the aftermath of his break-up with Maggie, Ridge finds ultimate freedom from his writer’s block. He acknowledges that “heartache is good for lyrical inspiration” and composes multiple songs that express his deep feelings for Sydney (374). Free, Ridge is finally able to access the full depth of his emotions and express them openly through his songs. Hoover symbolizes Ridge’s development through his writer’s block, which represents the dedication to stability that hinders him from living fully and loving passionately, and its end.
Maybe Someday
The novel’s title, Maybe Someday, repeats throughout the work as an anthem of hope for Sydney and Ridge and as a representation of their conflict. Their dedication to protecting and respecting Maggie hold them back from pursuing their true feelings and leave them reliant on their hope for a future together. Sydney introduces the phrase when she learns of Ridge’s relationship with Maggie. She comments on how she “assumed that maybe someday, when I was ready, things could have developed between us” (147).
Sydney is realistic of her need for independence. She recognizes the passion between her and Ridge and holds out hope that one day she will be ready to act on her feelings. However, Ridge’s unyielding dedication to protecting Maggie impedes him from considering the possibility of a future with Sydney. Sydney names the first song Ridge and Sydney write together “Maybe Someday,” the phrase capturing the overpowering desire and conflict that consume Ridge and Sydney. The song expresses the desperation and longing that engulf them with lyrics such as “And if I can’t be yours now / I’ll wait here on this ground / Till you come / Till you take me away / Maybe Someday / Maybe Someday” (183).
Throughout the novel, Hoover follows Ridge and Sydney’s tortured journey to confront their feelings for one another. Finally, by the novel’s conclusion, Ridge finds himself freed from his relationship with Maggie and able to convey his true emotions. Sydney experiences living on her own and finds reassurance in Ridge’s undivided dedication to her. Hoover transforms the tortured hopefulness of the phrase “maybe someday” when she writes from Sydney’s perspective: “I feel like my maybe someday just became my right now” (386). No longer hopeful for the future but open to the present, Ridge and Sydney find a resolution to their difficult journey of love in each other.
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By Colleen Hoover
