59 pages • 1-hour read
All Her Fault
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Symbols & Motifs
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of child endangerment and death.
Synesthesia
Synesthesia is a condition that causes sensory crossovers. For instance, people with synesthesia might taste colors or see sounds. In the novel, synesthesia is a motif that connects Milo Irvine and Carrie. They share similar symptoms of the condition. Both Milo and Carrie associate the days of the week and numbers with specific colors. In the novel, this is used as a literal plot device to prove that Milo is Carrie’s son.
Synesthesia is also used figuratively to illustrate how one’s personal understanding of the world differs from that of other people. Both Carrie and Milo’s parents struggle to understand their children’s unique view of the world. For Irene, Carrie’s mother, Carrie’s synesthesia is a source of irritation. For Carrie, she “sees” Monday as blue. When she told her mother about this, Irene dismissed her as a “little weirdo” who “fancied herself a poet” (82). Similarly, when Milo attempts to tell his father about his feeling that Monday is orange, Peter is distracted and on his phone, telling him that “Daddy has to work” (367). Milo is “surprised that nobody else” sees the world the way he does (348).
This dynamic is reflective of how the characters of Peter and Carrie see their actions as justified based on the way they see the world. They both feel entitled to act criminally because they see it as necessary to protect their family or right an injustice. When Marissa learns of their views, she is shocked, as she does not see the world in the same way.
True Crime Media and Social Media
In All Her Fault, social media (and true crime media more generally) is a motif closely related to the theme of The Unrealistic Expectations of Mothers in a Patriarchal Society.
When news of Milo’s kidnapping becomes public, commentators are quick to blame the Irvines, and especially Marissa, for the situation. Without knowing all the facts, they leave offensive comments on news articles about the case, saying things such as, “I’ve heard she’s had a ton of surgery” and “they look like they’re so up themselves” (182). They clamor for the Irvines to “be charged with negligence” (233). This motif continues in the social media comments after Carrie’s body is discovered. Jenny describes “the talk online” as “disgusting,” particularly the comments that Carrie “deserved” her fate (288). These comments are reflective of real-life social media comments around true crime cases.
The work also depicts how tabloids and news media more generally create an attention economy around high-profile cases like that of Milo’s kidnapping. Irene quickly recognizes this and attempts to use the situation for profit by selling her story to the media and garnering attention. While this practice is unusual in the United States, in Ireland and the United Kingdom, it is not uncommon for news media, particularly tabloids, to pay sources for their interviews. Irene is aware that going public as Carrie’s mother leaves her open to criticism about her own abilities as a mother, which is why she is careful to distance herself from any responsibility for Carrie’s actions.
Maple Lodge
Maple Lodge, the Irvine residence, is a symbol of both the Irvines’ immense wealth and their sense of being sheltered and protected from society’s problems, reflecting The Impacts of Class on Relationships. It is located “in the nicest part of town, on possibly the most upmarket road in Dublin” (69). It is a “spacious” Edwardian house set back from the road and protected with a gate. In a city like Dublin, which is facing a historic housing crisis, a detached house with its own land and enough space on the property for a granny cottage for Peter’s brother, Brian, to live in, costs a fortune. Jenny is awed by the home. The large, stately home provides a superficial sense of safety and security for the Irvines.
However, after Milo is kidnapped, the home no longer feels like the sanctuary it once did to Marissa. One evening, after Milo has returned, Marissa is in the living room when she “hear[s] a snap from outside, like someone stepping on a twig” (240). She feels compelled to close the curtains on the large bay windows. Lia attempts to comfort her, saying, “nobody would get through those huge gates, it’s like Fort Knox” (241). The irony is that these large gates are insufficient to protect Marissa and Milo from the secrets their husband and father, Peter, is keeping.
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