Summary

The short story “Ice Cream” by Helen Dunmore presents Clara, a fashion model, who is celebrating her 24th birthday in a restaurant. While her friends from the fashion industry celebrate, Clara sees a plate of ice cream being served to a woman in the restaurant. She starts craving ice cream and, although someone offers her coffee, she keeps thinking about ice cream. 

Elise – Clara’s personal trainer – approaches her and tries to convince her to meditate to stop thinking about ice cream. When Clara still cannot let go of the thought of ice cream, Elise makes her remember her past. Clara remembers being an overweight teenager and being rejected by model agencies because of her size. With Elise’s help, Clara is now at the height of her career, having lost weight and become a famous model. 

The people at the table start giving Clara advice about keeping her figure. One model advises her to throw up, while another offers her some pills. Elise proposes something called “mouth therapy”, in which Clara is supposed to only chew food, then spit it out. Elise adds that mouth therapy cannot work with ice cream. Clara still orders ice cream, to Elise’s horror. The waiter encourages Clara to eat her ice cream, and while Elise turns away, Clara swallows the ice cream, enjoying its taste.