51 pages • 1 hour read
John MarrsWhat Lies Between Us
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020A 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
Nina’s Memory Box
Nina’s memory box is a gift given to her by Alistair, which she fills with mementos from her childhood and early teenage years, including photos and school assignments. During Nina’s childhood, the box serves as a sign of the bond between Alistair and Nina, but following Alistair’s death, it takes on additional significance, becoming a tangible symbol of what has been lost.
When Nina places the box under Maggie’s bed, she intends it to serve as an accusation. She wants it to be a reminder of all that Maggie has taken away from Nina, starting with her pregnancy, indicated by the positive pregnancy test preserved in the box. In this way, the box connects with the novel’s exploration of Guilt, Blame, and Revenge. John Marrs shows how the events of the past are still negotiable in the present, and indeed, how those events can even become a battleground for shaping the future.
When Maggie uses the contents of the box as kindling to lead the fire up the stairs, it emphasizes that the house itself is a memory box of sorts. The rising flames signify the end of an era, as well as a potential new beginning.
The Home
The home where Nina and Maggie live and spend most of their lives becomes a physical representation of the mental and emotional bonds that both bind them together and tear them apart. Within the home, space is carefully controlled and delineated, with the purposes for each space reflecting the nuances of Nina and Maggie’s relationship. The attic, for instance, is Maggie’s home turf, while the middle floor is a no-man’s land of both reconciliation and conflict. Various household items are weaponized or used as tools, which hints at the richness of the domestic setting.
Adjacent to the home is a garden, where Alistair is buried. The garden grave is a common trope in mystery and thriller fiction. Here, it serves as a plot device, revealing a twist—it does not contain Nina’s dead child, as she imagined, but her father. Marrs explores The Compounding Consequences of Deception, with the home literally concealing secrets. For example, Bobby ends up in the basement, completing a circular return to his early childhood.
Fire
As the house burns to the ground, its secrets are finally revealed and Nina’s dominion broken. This is a motif seen in other works in the thriller and horror genre. For example, in Petals on the Wind by V.C. Andrews, a fire destroys Foxworth Hall, a mansion where four children had been imprisoned in an attic. In the film adaptation of Stephen King’s short story “1408,” a man trapped in a haunted room breaks the room’s spell and hold on him by setting it aflame. In these works, like in What Lies Between Us, fire, though deadly, has the power to expose the truth and cleanse.
Black and Red
Nina’s violent episodes are frequently marked by a change in perception, that the world is only visible in black and red. The phrase “seeing red” has classically reflected rage, and red is also closely associated with blood. Black, in contrast, can signify death or obscurity. Nina sees red and black together throughout the novel, but only black at the novel’s conclusion. This implies that she is sinking deeper, and perhaps irreversibly, into psychosis and violence.
Cancer
Two major characters, Jon and Maggie, either die of cancer or are on the verge of doing so. In the novel, cancer is associated with progressive destruction. Leukemia claims Jon’s life while he is in prison, and Maggie’s pleasure at his fate ironically foreshadows her own battle with cancer. Maggie’s illness follows the experiences of others in her family, including her mother. Its heritable nature suggests that destructive habits, tendencies, and even ideas can be passed from one generation to the next. Maggie’s cancer also serves as a reminder of her mortality, and momentarily brings her and Nina together in a common cause. In the end, the cancer, like the fire that burns the house to the ground, becomes a metaphor for the destruction that ensues from Nina’s and Maggie’s actions.
