Little Stranger

The first several chapters of the novel establish Olivia and Malachi’s relationship as children, as well as their relationship with Jennifer and Jamieson Vize, their adoptive parents. Olivia, who is adopted first, has a somewhat different relationship with her parents than Malachi, though her perspective on these relationships shifts significantly as she grows up. Adolescent Olivia feels close to her mother, whose controlling attentiveness feels loving after Olivia’s early childhood, of which she has few memories but knows to be characterized by fear and neglect. The text indicates that this closeness is not something that Jennifer altruistically cultivates out of a desire to develop a close relationship with her daughter. Instead, Jennifer characterizes herself as a savior who “[rescued Olivia] from that evil place” (9). Adoption agencies like the National Council for Adoption warn against this form of thinking—in which adoptive parents seek adopted children to frame themselves as benevolent or heroic—as it is an insufficiently child-centric reason for seeking to adopt. This ideology, in real adoption, frames adoptive parents’ love as something that is not freely given, as they may expect their adopted children to perform gratitude for being “rescued” (Hanlon, Ryan, Nicole Davi, Matthew Quade, and Abigail Lindner. “Profiles in Adoption: Adult Adoptee Experiences.” National Council for Adoption, 2024). This sense that adoptees need to “earn” their parents’ love with acts of gratitude may lead them to feel as though they are not “real” members of their family, particularly if their parents also have biological children. Little Stranger explores the question of What Makes a “Real” Family through both the Vize parents’ and children’s approaches to their adoptive family.

Jennifer’s savior complex foreshadows her manipulative tendencies, which become more transparent as Olivia becomes more resistant to them. Olivia’s adoration of her mother during her childhood also suggests that young Olivia, by virtue of her youth and innocence, is something of an unreliable narrator. This unreliability, presented through Olivia’s first-person narration, lets readers experience the shifting dynamics in the Vize family from her perspective as the only member of her family who feels loyalty to both her parents and her sibling. Her changing opinions about Jennifer—and, to a lesser degree, Jamieson—are shown to be part of Olivia’s growing maturity and character arc, not because her parents or Malachi change substantively. Her growth means that Olivia grows less unreliable as the text progresses—an important distinction for the dark romance that increasingly unfolds as Olivia and Malachi grow up. If teenage Olivia is uncertain about her feelings toward her brother, the text contends, it is not because she is unreliable; it is merely because she is conflicted about her taboo desires. Olivia’s increasing hostility toward Jennifer’s control thus stands as a reminder of Olivia’s agency in the text, as it shows that she is not incapable of resisting those who wish to control her—which means that she gives in to Malachi’s later control because she wishes to do so, not because she feels she has no other choice.

Unlike Olivia, Malachi’s relationship with his parents remains consistently hostile from the beginning of the novel; he forms an attachment to Olivia only, one that begins as possessive and only increases in intensity as they age. From the first time he meets Olivia, he feels ownership over her. To him, this possessiveness transcends the distinction between different forms of relationships, and his approach establishes the theme of The Roots of Possessiveness. Malachi does not see a tension between his and Olivia’s sibling relationship and their growing flirtation. This places him in opposition to Olivia, who frets about this overlap even before their relationship becomes sexual. This difference does not, however, lead to any distance between Malachi and Olivia, who share early childhood experiences and thus imagine themselves as fundamentally similar, no matter what surface differences divide them.

The early portion of the novel also discusses ability and disability through Malachi’s speech. Malachi’s use of sign language is a form of “selective mutism.” The Selective Mutism Association notes that this terminology does not refer to there being “a volitional quality to not speaking” but rather indicates that those who experience this condition may speak in some circumstances but not in others (Weitzen, Andrew. “SMA Statement Regarding Different Terminology Used to Describe Selective Mutism - Selective Mutism Association.” Selective Mutism Association, 10 Jan. 2023). Different characters show different levels of acceptance of Malachi’s use of sign language, ranging from Olivia’s innocent curiosity when she first meets him (as this is her first time meeting someone who signs) to Olivia’s high school friends, who label Malachi a “freak,” an ableist term, even as they discuss their sexual interest in him. Their attraction offers another perspective on Exploring the Allure of the Taboo through the girls’ fetishization of him. Though Malachi is overall uncaring about his reputation and how others see him, the girls’ perspective on him makes him feel that his selective mutism makes him unworthy of genuine love. This insecurity follows him through the novel, though he spends significant energy trying to deny it. By developing Malachi as a character with selective mutism, Leigh Rivers interrogates ableism while simultaneously creating an even closer connection between him and Olivia, as she is one of the few people who establishes communication with him.