Daisy Darker

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Frontmatter-Chapter 10

Chapters 11-20

Chapters 21-30

Chapters 31-40

Chapters 41-50

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

The Clocks

The prominence of clocks in Daisy Darker symbolizes the passing of time and mortality. Nana’s 80 clocks in the hallway of Seaglass represent her age. They also serve as a reminder of the prophecy that she will not live to see her next birthday. The varying designs of the timepieces represent significant events in the novel. The factory punch clock is a reminder of how much time has passed since the Darker family was last together. The hourglass incorporating sand from Blacksand Bay is a memento of the events that took place at the Halloween beach party in 1988. Meanwhile, the macabre cuckoo clock, featuring a woman who chops off her husband’s head, foreshadows the violent events to come. Time plays a crucial role in the novel’s plot as the murder victims are killed on the hour, and the chapter headings provide a countdown to low tide. The constant soundtrack of the ticking clocks emphasizes the threat to the characters’ lives as their time literally runs out.

Broken Hearts

The motif of broken hearts is introduced in the first line of Daisy’s narrative. The protagonist has what she terms a “broken heart,” both literally and metaphorically. Her rare health condition means her heart can stop at any time. It also leads to emotional heartbreak, as Daisy feels lonely and alienated as a result of the disorder. Her condition is symbolized in the heart-shaped locket Nancy wears, which divides into two halves.

Daisy’s troublesome medical condition leads her to question why a “rather ugly internal organ had become the universal symbol for love” (204). However, her experiences provide the answer, demonstrating love to be both painful and “ugly.” The protagonist’s “dysfunctional” relationship with her sisters and parents and their ultimate betrayal of her illustrate that “[t]he people who love us the most hurt us the hardest” (212).

Flowers

A running motif in the novel, flowers are associated with notions of identity. Nancy names all three daughters after floral species, inspired by her constant companion, The Observer’s Book of Wildflowers. Daisy reflects on how these names turn out to be perfect aptronyms for the three Darker sisters. Rose is “beautiful but not without thorns” (1), while Lily is “pale, and pretty, and poisonous to some” (1). The protagonist sees it as fitting that the most favored daughters are named after plants that need to be nurtured and are celebrated for their beauty. Meanwhile, her own name derives from a flower often dismissed as a weed. Daisy’s conviction that her mother does not love her is prompted by the sight of watching Nancy cut dead daisies from the lawn. The incident also foreshadows the careless way Conor and her sisters dispose of the protagonist when they believe she has died.