50 pages • 1-hour read
Lies and Weddings
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Symbols & Motifs
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of illness and death.
Volcanic Fissure
Two volcanic fissures open up on Arabella’s hotel property in Hawaii, disrupting the plans for Augusta’s wedding and forcing the wedding reception to come to an early end. The volcanic fissures expel subterranean magma (molten rock) that symbolizes the moment when repressed emotions such as resentment, anger, and forbidden love suddenly burst forth and ruin Arabella’s intricate but superficial plans for her children’s future. The two fissures appear in key moments when hidden emotions are finally revealed. In one comic scene, Augusta is being coached to unleash her anger at her mother when the fissure suddenly opens nearby. In the second instance, news of a nearby fissure is announced immediately after Rufus declares his romantic feelings for Eden. The violent expulsions of molten lava are therefore designed to act as a physical manifestation of the suppressed tensions within the family.
Because volcanic fissures are dangerous, they symbolize the idea that repressed emotions can cause more problems than ones that are readily shared. The anger and resentment that Augusta feels toward her domineering mother causes greater tension because Augusta tries to conceal these feelings until they erupt. Likewise, Rufus’s abrupt confession of love startles Eden and causes problems within the Gresham family. However, while the eruptions of volcanic fissures are sporadic and spontaneous, the reality of magma lurking below the surface is a known threat. Likewise, while some characters may deceive themselves into thinking that they can contain and conceal their emotions, those emotions will invariably find a way to surface.
Dreams
Dreams are an important motif in the novel. Eden regularly dreams about her mother (who died when she was a child), and when she mentions this to Freddy, who also lost his mother at a young age, Freddy explains that he also has frequent dreams about his mother. Eden also has a number of erotic dreams about Rufus, which serve as one of the first indications that she returns his romantic and sexual feelings.
The motif of dreams also reveals the characters’ unconscious memories, knowledge, and longings. For example, Eden doesn’t learn until nearly the end of the novel that her mother lived through significant tragedy and adopted a new identity for herself. However, Eden’s dreams reveal her longing for a closer relationship with a maternal figure, and these scenes also indicate her unconscious awareness that there is more to her family history than she currently understands.
Eden’s dreams are particularly important because she is typically a calm, rational, and pragmatic character. As a physician, she has to maintain a cool head when making serious decisions. These character traits can make it difficult for her to access her emotions and understand what she is truly feeling. It is only when Eden is unconscious that she can truly access emotions like grief and desire that are usually suppressed in her daily life.
Pearl Necklace
Rosina regularly sports a flashy pearl necklace, and at one point, she playfully confides to Arabella that the necklace is fake. However, she later contradicts herself by claiming that she never wears “fake jewels.” Thus, the necklace symbolizes the issue of Performative Wealth Versus Financial Stability, and it is clear that the performance of one’s social position is almost as important as having the money to back it up. Rosina is legitimately a wealthy woman, but more importantly, she maintains the appearance of luxury and exclusivity. As a result, she can get away with wearing fake jewels because no one would ever question the legitimacy of her pearls. The implication that Rosina wear fake pearls reflects the role of illusion and performance in cultivating elite status; likewise, the Gresham family maintains the appearance of opulent wealth even when they are really in extreme financial peril. For families that have cultivated wealth and status over generations, the trappings of wealth serve to advertise a level of financial security that does not actually exist.
The illusion of authentic financial solvency also suggests that nothing is quite what it seems in the novel. Eden initially appears to have no special financial status, but she soon becomes the heiress to a vast fortune. Likewise, her family history is not what she has always understood it to be, for her father is actually her biological uncle. Within this broader context, the questionable authenticity of Rosina’s pearls symbolizes the ways in which performance and perception can eclipse objective reality.
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