Do You Remember?

The dog, Ziggy, represents Tess’s gut instincts and is therefore a motif that demonstrates The Reliability of Intuition as a theme. Meeting her dog every day is one of Tess’s first clues that her husband and her life aren’t as happy as they seem. When Graham introduces her to Ziggy on “Day One,” Tess thinks, “It’s like my heart has a memory of loving this dog” (28). It strikes her as significant that her love for her dog transcends her conscious memory, but she can’t—on any emotional or intuitive level—recall love for her husband. Tess’s intuition regarding Graham, despite the letters in her handwriting that reassure her of his love and loyalty, suggests his duplicity even before she has actual memories to prove it.

Furthermore, Tess understands that her choice to name Ziggy after Harry’s pet bird is a secret, personal message to herself. Just as her intuition alerts her to danger, regarding whom she can and can’t trust, so does Ziggy. Of Graham, she notes that when “he picks up the glass [of juice to bring me], Ziggy leaves my side and growls at him, baring an impressive set of teeth […]. ‘Your dog doesn’t like me.