60 pages • 2 hours read
Ashley WinsteadThe Last Housewife
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Literary Context: Scheherazade and The Thousand and One Nights
The Thousand and One Nights, or Arabian Nights, is a collection of stories from Middle Eastern folklore and literature, belonging to the Islamic Golden Age, which occurred between the 8th and 13th centuries in the Middle East. The collection itself is not uniform, with different editions containing different stories, but the framework of the collection remains the same. The king, Shahryar, is upset at his wife’s infidelity and has her killed. Believing all women to be unfaithful, the king marries a succession of virgins, all of whom are killed the night after the marriage to prevent them from ever committing adultery. Scheherazade, the daughter of one of the king’s advisers, offers to marry the king, and she delays her execution by telling the king stories. Scheherazade’s effort to delay her own death has been used in a variety of works to represent the power and intelligence of women and of femininity.
In The Last Housewife, Shay Deroy, who is revealed to be the author of the novel at the end of the book, uses a similar framing device, using Scheherazade’s name to connect her story to The Thousand and One Nights. Instead of telling stories to the king, though, Shay is telling the stories of her own life and her investigation into Laurel Hargrove’s death, and, instead of delaying her execution, Shay is asking the audience of Jamie Knight’s podcast, Transgressions, to support her in fighting a charge of murder. Scheherazade is an early example of women in fiction, like Shay, who stand up or against an oppressor, and she is commonly used to represent the values of self-determination and resistance within feminism and feminist works. By aligning herself with Scheherazade, Shay is framing herself and her story as one of resistance, and the stories within the novel, though all part of Shay’s life, are intended to weave a more complete image of Shay as an individual overcoming oppression.
Genre Context: The Psychological Thriller
The psychological thriller is a genre of novel that relies on the psychological complexities of its characters to generate tension, suspense, and a sense of foreboding. The genre often explores the human mind’s darker corners and delves into the complex motivations, fears, and obsessions of characters. In these stories, the inner workings of the human psyche take center stage, driving the plot forward. For example, in The Last Housewife, Shay’s journey from a comfortable life in Texas to an investigation in New York is marked by a deep exploration of her traumatic past. Her childhood experiences, including an abusive teacher and a traumatic assault, shape her character and motivations. Additionally, the revelation of a secret society, the Pater Society, and its disturbing practices add layers of psychological complexity to the story.
Psychological thrillers also draw on elements of the mystery genre, such as incorporating red herrings to deliberately misdirect the reader, which creates further suspense and uncertainty. The gradual unfolding of secrets and the unexpected twists and turns contribute to a heightened sense of anxiety and anticipation. For instance, in The Last Housewife, Ashley Winstead sets the reader up with the false clue that the dead body has been identified as Laurel. This makes for a big twist at the end of the novel when Laurel is revealed to be alive and working with Don.
Moral ambiguity is another prominent feature of psychological thrillers, with characters often blurring the lines between hero and villain. They may grapple with moral dilemmas, engage in morally questionable actions, or have ambiguous motivations. This moral ambiguity adds depth to the narrative, challenging conventional perceptions of right and wrong. In The Last Housewife, some characters’ moral statuses remain uncertain, even at the novel’s conclusion. Laurel is revealed to be a perpetrator, but she has been subjected to extensive manipulation by Don, from her time living in his apartment as a young woman to the present day, to the point that she obeys his command to die by suicide. The fact that Shay kills Don, despite him being incapacitated and the arrival of the FBI, also leaves her morally compromised.
