53 pages • 1 hour read
Noelle W. IhliGray After Dark
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Predators and Prey
The recurring motif of predators and prey expands on the theme of Navigating Toxic Power Dynamics. Predator imagery first appears in the narrative when Wes warns Miley that bears pose a threat to humans in the Frank Church Wilderness. Wes’s concern for her welfare and insistence that she carries bear spray underlines the existence of this potential danger. Miley’s later abduction by Fred and Hamish confirms that the wilderness is a dangerous environment while challenging the idea that wildlife poses the greatest hazard. In reality, humans prove to be the most savage predators. Consequently, Miley reflects: “I would have cried tears of joy […] for a chance to face off with a bear instead of these two monsters” (102).
Fred and Hamish are portrayed as unnatural predators. Unlike the other carnivores in the Frank Church Wilderness, they frequently kill for pleasure rather than sustenance. Their sadistic hunting methods are demonstrated when Hamish shoots a bull moose, which drowns in the lake, and when Fred maims a doe but does not kill it. The men’s abuse of power over helpless creatures is echoed in their treatment of the women they abduct. The novel highlights this power dynamic by comparing Mary to animals that are at the bottom of the food chain, such as rabbits and deer. Fred taunts Mary with the song “Run, Rabbit Run!” underscoring the notion that she is like the powerless rabbit and he is the farmer with a gun.
As the novel nears its conclusion, the associations of these predator and prey images notably change, reflecting shifting power dynamics. For instance, as Brent and Wes’s trek brings them closer to Miley, a rabbit crosses their path, providing their first meal in days. Mary’s revelation that a friend gave her a rabbit pendant before a race connects rabbit imagery with luck and speed. At the novel’s climax, Mary incapacitates Hamish using Wes’s bear spray. While Wes’s fear of bear attacks was unfounded, his means of defense is equally effective on the novel’s human predators. The Epilogue highlights the triumph of the novel’s “prey” over their predators as Miley, Mary, and Brent wear identical lucky rabbit pendants.
Biathlon
The biathlon, a sporting event combining cross-country skiing and target shooting, is a central motif in the novel. The sport and its techniques become an analogy for triumphing over life’s challenges, contributing to the novel’s exploration of Balancing Survival Instincts and Moral Integrity. Brent’s assertion that biathletes “raced the way [they] lived” highlights how the characters’ biathlon performances reflect their flaws and strengths (48). While both he and Miley excel in their field, they berate themselves for mistakes that deprive them of an Olympic medal. Miley misses the rifle target as she rushes her shot. Meanwhile, Brent is overtaken by other skiers in the last leg. Miley’s error underlines a tendency to act before the time is right, while Brent’s is caused by his emotional volatility.
Once Miley is abducted, it becomes crucial to her survival that both she and Brent overcome the weaknesses they displayed in their biathlon performances. For Miley, the concept of avoiding a “penalty lap” becomes pivotal to her escape. Due to missing her target at the Olympics, Miley realizes: “An extra seven seconds to load your rifle and slow your breath is nothing compared to a twenty-second penalty lap for missing your shot” (236). This lesson is underscored when she grasps the first opportunity to escape, and her “penalty lap” consists of repeated assaults that leave her close to death. From this point on, she waits patiently for exactly the right moment before making her move. In the novel’s climax, Miley demonstrates that she has absorbed these lessons when her shooting of Fred recreates the conditions of the biathlon, and this time, her aim is accurate. Brent also treats the search for Miley like a biathlon event, where rescuing her is the target. Gradually, he learns to reign in his emotions, realizing that the mission requires logic and a cool head. Ultimately, his composure in extreme situations is proven when he adopts the biathlon technique of controlled breathing to survive his collapsed lung.
The Chickens
Chickens are a symbol of both hope and hopelessness in the novel. For Mary, the chickens she tends at the cabin are a source of solace and are receptacles for her love. Miley notes how Mary comes alive when talking about the chickens; significantly, she is clutching one of them when she first appears in the narrative. Mary’s interactions with the chickens are the highlight of her day and provide a positive link to her former life as Rayna, when she and her mother reared hens. Caring for the birds also prompts her into small acts of resistance—despite Fred’s ordering her not to do so, she treats them like pets and secretly gives them names. At the same time, the birds represent Mary’s hopeless situation as she is powerless to prevent their deaths when Fred decides to kill them. Although she conceals her distress, Miley senses Mary’s silent suffering when the roosters are slaughtered for the wedding dinner.
When Mary’s favorite chicken, Annabelle, goes missing, the link between the birds and Mary’s many miscarriages becomes apparent. Mary declares, “I can’t leave her alone out here. I can’t lose another one” (283), conveying how the chickens have become substitutes for her lost children. The love Mary shows them reflects her unfulfilled maternal instincts. While caring for the chickens makes Mary’s life with Fred more bearable, they also tether her to emotional trauma. Her insistence that she cannot leave the chickens echoes her conviction that she must stay and have Fred’s children. Ihli eventually resolves Mary’s dilemma when Annabelle directly leads the women to Brent and Wes. The encounter prompts Mary’s realization that she is free to have children and nurture as many chickens as she likes if she returns to her life as Rayna.
