51 pages • 1-hour read
Daisy Haites
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Symbols & Motifs
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence.
Driving
Hastings uses driving as a symbol of personal autonomy. At the start of the novel, Daisy tells Christian that one of her greatest dreams is to learn how to drive and to have the freedom to take herself wherever she chooses. Daisy has the “luxury” of a chauffeur—her bodyguard Miguel shepherds her from one place to another—but the arrangement makes 20-year-old Daisy feel powerless and trapped. When Christian teaches her how to drive, Daisy feels empowered. Behind the wheel, Daisy drives “ultra carefully, but smoother than [she’d] imagined,” which makes her feel “pretty pleased with [her]self” (50). Learning a new skill allows her to develop self-pride and feel greater control over her life.
The imagery Hastings uses to describe Daisy and Christian’s driving lesson foreshadows Daisy’s decision to leave her family business at the novel’s end. Although Daisy is an adult, her atypical circumstances hold her back from taking control of her life in a typical fashion. Learning to drive represents a first step towards establishing personal autonomy and exercising her agency. Her ability to drive conveys her ability to learn new things, to take risks, and to make choices for herself.
Washing Machine
Hastings positions Daisy’s washing machine as symbolic of predictability and normalcy. The washing machine and laundry room consistently offered Daisy a sense of safety. When she was a child, Julian would hide Daisy in the laundry room so she wouldn’t overhear difficult conversations or violent activities going on in the further reaches of the house. In the present, Daisy gravitates towards the laundry room because laundry “feels like something normal people do. Teachers do laundry. Social workers do laundry. Secretaries do laundry. Mechanics do laundry” (22). Daisy craves this sort of normalcy and performs the mundane task in an attempt to achieve it. Washing her clothes also offers her peace of mind and grants Daisy the illusion of control. She is taking charge of her personal affairs, keeping things clean, and organizing her space and time.
Later in the novel, Daisy and Christian visit IKEA and kiss in the laundrette section. Daisy feels safe and calm in this setting, because she equates domesticity with peace. In contrast, when Daisy is with Romeo, she stops doing her laundry. Julian immediately notices this change in her behavior and fears that Romeo is compromising Daisy’s sense of self. Romeo estranges Daisy from her authentic identity, pulling her away from the things she enjoys and relies on to ground her. Her temporary laundry pause foreshadows the end of her and Romeo’s affair.
Necklace
The heart-shaped necklace that Christian wears is a symbol of love. Christian originally received the necklace from Magnolia Parks. She “[g]ave one to all of [the boys]” (65). Christian initially hated the “Tiffany’s dog-tag heart” necklace but has grown attached to it over time (65-66). At the start of the novel, the necklace preserves his connection with Magnolia. They haven’t been intimate in some time, but Christian feels hung up on her. He often longs for Magnolia to end her relationship with BJ Ballentine so they can get back together. When Christian is alone, he will toy with the necklace—a habit that conveys his internal unrest, especially over Magnolia.
Christian later gives the heart-shaped necklace to Daisy. Throughout their relationship, Daisy is perpetually skeptical of Christian’s affection for her. Christian removes the necklace from his neck and clasps it around Daisy’s because he wants to prove his devotion to her. He later tells Magnolia he gave the necklace away, because he wants her to understand that he is now committed to Daisy.
The shape of the necklace underscores its symbolic significance—Daisy carries Christian’s heart around her neck. This image shows how close the romantic counterparts are even when they’re physically apart.
Kidnapping
The kidnapping Julian commits in the latter third of the novel symbolizes immorality. Julian decides to take Eamon Brown’s children to compel him to pay him back. Julian stole the painting Brown wanted, but Brown hasn’t kept up his end of the deal. Julian goes to this extreme measure to get the money because he’s more worried about his reputation in the crime world than he is about breaching his and Daisy’s moral code. As soon as Daisy discovers the truth, she decides to cut Julian out. She refuses to condone the endangerment of innocent children. This plot point marks a shift in the narrative plot line and awakens Daisy to the truth of her circumstances and her brother’s identity.
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