49 pages • 1 hour read
Jenna LevineMy Roommate Is a Vampire
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A 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
Frederick’s Dimple
Frederick’s dimple is a symbol of Cassie’s romantic feelings for Frederick. When the dimple first appears, it’s when Frederick smiles at Cassie during their first meeting: “When he gave me a small, expectant smile, a dimple popped in his right cheek” (22). Cassie notices the dimple immediately, in the same moment when she notices how handsome Frederick is and becomes attracted to him. Later, when discussing the truth of his past, Frederick smiles at Cassie again, causing her to think, “I refused to be distracted by how handsome he looked when he did those half smiles. Especially when they made his dimple pop” (127).
Cassie tries to focus on what Frederick is saying and on staying neutral in their conversation, but the physical presence of his dimple reminds her of her romantic feelings for him, even after he broke her trust by keeping his vampirism a secret. Her feelings for him only intensify as they grow closer. When Cassie takes him shopping for modern clothes, she finds him attractive in the clothes he tries on and tells him so. This makes Frederick bashful, which only makes Cassie find him more attractive, as she notices, “He gave me a bashful, lopsided smile that activated his killer dimple, then looked down at his arms” (175). This is the last appearance of his dimple in the novel, as after this moment Cassie touches Frederick intentionally for the first time, and her feelings for him become less symbolic and more blatantly obvious.
Cassie’s Art
Cassie’s art is a motif that reflects Long-Term Compatibility Despite Surface-Level Differences. Cassie’s art is modern and boundary-pushing, which is in direct contrast with the art in Frederick’s apartment. When Cassie enters her bedroom to unpack, she notices the only piece of art in the room: “A single framed oil painting of a fox-hunting party […] maybe the ugliest thing I’d ever seen. It featured a dozen long-dead men riding horses in a field, dressed in wigs and red coats” (45).
Cassie thinks the painting is not only ugly, but overly antiquated, as she specifically notes that the men depicted in the painting are “long-dead.” The painting of the fox hunt is representative of Frederick’s taste in art and his feeling of being trapped in the past, especially when Frederick fails to understand Cassie’s modern art. She tries to help him understand, but feels a sense of foreboding about letting him understand that side of her.
This sense of foreboding falls away as Frederick comes to genuinely appreciate her art. When he touches her sketchbook after she falls asleep on his shoulder, Frederick is mesmerized by her art. This makes Cassie’s feelings for him intensify, as she thinks, “I’d always felt my art was an extension of my innermost self, and the sight of his large, graceful hands touching every single part of this early drawing felt almost unbearably intimate” (191). In this moment, Cassie’s art allows Frederick to overcome his struggles to understand modern art and appreciate Cassie’s talent, letting their relationship deepen even though their different opinions on art still exist.
Social Media
Social media functions as a motif to illustrate The Challenges of Adapting to Different Lifestyles. When social media first enters the narrative, Cassie utilizes it to help Frederick adapt to contemporary society. She shows him Instagram, but he does not immediately like it. He tells Cassie, “If this is social media, social media seems like nothing but a noisy, invasive waste of time” (150). Frederick’s struggles to adapt to modern apps and technology serve as a reminder of how out-of-touch he truly is. Later, however, Cassie uses social media to save Frederick after the Jamesons kidnap him, illustrating the importance of social media’s role in the narrative and Frederick’s growing appreciation for the modern world and a contemporary lifestyle.
