Little Stranger

“We’ll ensure the chefs, maids, and security guards know how to sign. Malachi will be comfortable in our home. He’s one of us now.”

Jennifer’s reference to the numerous staff members that work for the Vizes alludes to the family’s extreme wealth. This wealth highlights the absurdity of Jennifer’s social climbing, as her family already has abundant money and influence. Her insistence that Malachi is “one of [the family]” fades, however, when Malachi does not behave according to Jennifer’s ideas of what is the right way to represent the Vize family. These early representations of the Vize family establish one of the narrative’s main thematic questions: What Makes a “Real” Family?

“Even though I’m scared of my dad, I love him.”

Olivia’s connection between love and fear characterizes several of her relationships, most notably her sexual connection with Malachi. Her fear of her father both foreshadows Jamieson’s abuse, which he performs against Malachi more than Olivia, and presents situational irony about Olivia’s increasingly close relationship with Jamieson as she grows up.

“How does he see life? If he can’t feel certain emotions, then what is it like to live in his shoes? Does he even care about living?”

Olivia struggles to understand how Malachi sees the world after learning that Malachi has antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). Her concern that Malachi might not care for living if he cannot feel some emotions indicates how important she finds emotions to her own happiness. She continues to struggle with understanding Malachi throughout the novel, though she ultimately decides that his different emotional processing does not stand in the way of her love for him.

“You already know I have to [date who Jennifer chooses]. It’s what Vize women do apparently. I can’t say no.”

Contrary to how Jennifer characterizes her children’s adoption, Olivia characterizes membership in the Vize family not as something that saved her but rather as something that confines her. Jennifer’s expectations arise from dynastic ambitions, and she uses her daughter as a pawn in these ambitions as she arranges sexual and marital partners for Olivia throughout the text.

“[Malachi’s friends are] all quite scary to talk to. I picked him up once when he was drunk, and they had heavy metal music playing, their hair spiked up, and piercings all over their faces. I stood in the driveway in my cheer uniform, and they stared at me like I was the one who didn’t fit in. Not like when we were all at school and they were the outcasts.”

Olivia characterizes herself and Malachi (and his friends) as opposites, using high school archetypes. Her status as head cheerleader here stands for her overall orientation toward societal expectations; she fulfills them and enjoys the social status she gets from this fulfillment. When the dynamic is flipped, however, as in this passage, she experiences outsider status and the discomfort that comes with it. Despite this surface difference, however, Malachi and Olivia find themselves more frequently alike than at odds.

“‘Please don’t call me your little sister right now.’

He smirks, the dimple intending deep. But you are my sister. My dirty little sister who’s going to touch herself in front of me. Show your big brother what you sound like when you come.

All the oxygen in the tent vanishes, and my breath freezes in my chest. My inner walls clench, and I think I’m already soaking from his taboo words alone.”

Olivia feels both aroused by and anxious about reference to her and Malachi’s sibling relationship, particularly during sexual encounters. Though she protests his reference, she also dislikes it when he argues that they are not truly siblings. This shows that the taboo of their relationship is a central part of the allure of their connection for Olivia and begins her journey of Exploring the Allure of Taboo.

“Don’t silence me like that, he signs furiously. Don’t ever fucking silence me, Olivia.

My brow furrows in confusion. ‘I…I didn’t.’

He points to the torch. I can’t fucking talk to you if you can’t see me.”

Malachi’s hatred of being silenced stems, he later reveals, from the chronic neglect he suffered as a child, which led him to cease speaking orally to begin with. Olivia’s surprise that he considers turning off the lights “silencing” shows that she does not think about the different ways that she and Malachi communicate. This means that Olivia does not consider him a “freak,” as Malachi fears, but her confusion, highlighted by her furrowed brow, shows that she is not always thoughtful about his ability and adaptive strategies.

“‘But it’s wrong.’

So?”

When Olivia protests that her relationship with Malachi is “wrong,” Malachi dismisses this concern instantaneously. This comparative lack of concern for moral concerns or social repercussions regarding their relationship is the primary emotional difference between Malachi and Olivia in the text.

“Is that…allowed? Wrong? I don’t think I really care.”

As Olivia continues to have sexual “lessons” with Malachi, her moral quandaries around their relationship begin to fade. This establishes Olivia as a more emotionally dynamic character than Malachi through most of the novel (though he does experience emotional growth in the novel’s final chapters). She comes to gradually put her love for Malachi over what others will have to say about their relationship, gaining the confidence and maturity that mark her character arc.

“[Anna is] slim and tanned. Smart. She was also prom queen, so it makes no sense for her to want to go out with Malachi, considering he’s still seen as a freak.”

Olivia’s assessment that “it makes no sense” for Anna to be interested in “a freak” like Malachi suggests that Olivia does not see herself as similar to Anna, despite their similarities; they are both popular, beautiful, and well-liked students in their high school. Olivia thinks of herself as more similar to Malachi, given their similar pasts, than to Anna—though it also suggests that she does not look beyond Anna’s surface, something she does for herself and Malachi.

“Sorry’s just a word to try to get out of something, to dodge trouble if you’ve been caught out. Sorry’s a five-letter disgrace that shouldn’t even need to be used. It should be abolished from the fucking dictionary. Actions do speak louder than words.”

Malachi’s rejection of Olivia’s apologies for testifying against him aligns with his overall lack of regard for social niceties. His assumption that people who apologize do so because they wish to “dodge trouble” suggests that he believes others to always be in full control of their actions. This, in turn, aligns with his confidence in his own actions and highlights the continuing importance of control in his life.

“My girl doesn’t want to be a mother anyway.”

Malachi’s conviction that Olivia is uninterested in motherhood is characteristic of him, as he believes himself unerringly correct about all of Olivia’s wants and needs. Her comment at the end of the novel that she is interested in children one day casts doubt on his other certainties about her wants. This makes the element of dubious consent around their sexual encounters even more dubious—something that, in turn, adds darkness to the dark romance.

“I know how to fucking talk. I do. But I just…can’t without making a fool of myself. I stutter, and my tone is all over the place.”

Despite Malachi’s confidence in most of his decisions, as well as his lack of concern about what others think about him, he experiences self-doubt when trying to relearn how to speak orally. His determination to learn despite this uncertainty is a sign of his devotion to Olivia. His specific list of the things that could go wrong shows that he has thought deeply about this and maybe even tried it in private.

“She came all over my cock, whimpered my name, and moaned, so she definitely liked it.”

Malachi here uses Olivia’s orgasm as a sign that she gave suitable consent while drugged, something that the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center notes as a dangerous myth about rape and consent (“10 Myths about Sexual Assault.” Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, Mar. 2021). The novel does not treat Malachi’s rationale as wrong, however, rather framing it as something that fits into dubious consent, which dark romance frames as permissible.

“Is she…flirting with me? Me? No, she’s flirting with a stranger. Not fucking me. I want to strangle her.”

Malachi’s anger when Olivia flirts with him without knowing his identity shows that his possessiveness over Olivia is not just about being with her but about being wanted by her. This foreshadows his eventual decision to let her leave him, as he realizes that he does not want to be with her unless it is by choice.

“She’s quite the masochist, and I love it, because I think I’m a sadistic bastard.”

The novel treats sexual compatibility as one of the key indicators of a suitable romance. This preoccupation with sex as leading to a deeper relationship (as opposed to sex illustrating the developments in a relationship that have already transpired, an inverse cause and effect relationship) aligns Little Stranger with the genre conventions of erotica as well as dark and taboo romance. Malachi lines up masochism and sadism as being compatible in this quote to further his argument that they are meant to be together.

“They killed my fucking spider, the assholes.”

Malachi regularly commits violence in the text, usually brutal attacks that others find disproportionate to the supposed offenses against him. His anger that others killed his spider (twice—once in his childhood and again later after he attacks Jamieson) indicates that, despite these disproportionate responses, he objects to violence against innocents who cannot protect themselves. That this refers to a spider indicates his sympathy for those that many people consider sinister or unpleasant reactions that Malachi himself sometimes inspires.

“I was—technically—her brother. I’m still classed as one, I think. And as much as I wanted to be special to her, to be with her, I never wanted to be her brother. I wanted to be her first kiss, her first love, her first dance at Homecoming. I wanted to hold her hand and kiss her whenever I wanted. I was never normal enough for her—the freak without a voice. Our parents hated me—I was the adopted kid they never should’ve signed for. She was the angel—still is to me, despite everything—and I was the mistake.”

Malachi’s assessment of Olivia puts her on a pedestal and shows that he still feels the sting of his outsider status even as he denies wanting to be part of the Vize family. His feelings of inadequacy here stem from his internalized ableism, which has led him to believe that his longstanding preference for non-verbal communication makes him a “freak,” an ableist slur.

“It was way easier to talk with my identity hidden.”

Part 2 of the novel connects back to the title, Little Stranger. The fact that Malachi is hiding his identity from Olivia makes them temporarily like strangers to one another. This distance from one another helps Malachi overcome his self-consciousness, which lets him practice his speech and build confidence. The veil of anonymity also lets them be more honest with one another about their wants and desires, which leads to their reconciliation.

“If you tell me you love me, that I mean the world to you, then I’ll admit that I feel the exact same. Because I do, Malachi. I love you so much it hurts.”

Olivia’s reference that she “[loves Malachi] so much it hurts” highlights dark romance’s connection between love and pain, whether physical or emotional. Neither Olivia nor Malachi indicate interest in love without this pain, however, though they show a preference for pain that they intentionally cause one another as kink practices over the emotional pain of being kept apart by circumstance.

“I want Olivia to choose me. Please choose me. Nobody ever chooses me.”

Malachi’s address in this excerpt has an unclear audience. If his plea to “[p]lease choose me” is addressed to Olivia, this reflects his earlier desire for Olivia to access all of his innermost thoughts, something he feels will bring them closer together. If addressed to an audience, it constitutes a form of metalepsis, a literary device that involves what is often known as “breaking the fourth wall.” The lack of clarity between these audiences indicates that Malachi wants to elicit the same emotional reaction from Olivia and his readers—the decision to care for him, to grant him protagonist status, despite all his wrongdoing.

“After all, she’s been planning this day since she adopted me—she just had to find someone rich enough; a member of the elite.”

Olivia goes to her wedding resigned, as indicated by “after all,” to Jennifer’s attempts to improve her social standing through Olivia’s marriage. She equates wealth with Jennifer’s idea of being “elite,” positions that Olivia sees as meaningless, particularly as she has seen and paid their cost on Jennifer’s behalf.

“Why do you think my hair is blonde now? He’s a controlling ass. He thinks I need to lose weight and says I’m to stay silent unless spoken to. He’s a sexist pig.”

Olivia’s objection to Xander’s “controlling” nature illustrates that her enjoyment of Malachi’s control is not merely for the sake of that control itself. Rather, she here shows that she likes Malachi for reasons beyond their sexual compatibility. Her scorn at Xander’s insistence that she “stay silent” further parallels Malachi’s fear of being silenced, a shared concern that brings the protagonists closer together once more.