Long Shot

The conflicted feelings that Iris has about Caleb’s diamond engagement ring underscore the dissonance between what she truly wants in a romantic partnership and the reality of their abusive dynamic. At the start of the novel, Caleb proposes to Iris repeatedly, but she declines each time. She isn’t ready to commit to a future with Caleb, worried that marrying him will limit her dreams for the future. During one of Caleb’s proposals, Iris blinks “back tears of frustration and regret. [They] are obviously nowhere near being on the same page since [she] was just contemplating how to leave him” (100). Even though the idea of accepting Caleb’s proposal makes Iris feel dread, she also feels incapable of communicating her true feelings, hinting at the oppressive and manipulative nature of Caleb’s abuse.

Although Iris never accepts any of Caleb’s proposals, he eventually puts the ring on Iris’s finger by force and tells everyone that she is his fiancée, underscoring The Impact of Violence and Abuse in Romantic Relationships as a central theme of the narrative. “[T]he ten-carat diamond” is a symbol of Caleb’s power over Iris (167); he wants others to think that she belongs to him. By forcing her to wear the ring, Caleb attempts to coerce Iris into an identity and a life that she doesn’t want and hasn’t chosen. Throughout the subsequent chapters, Iris will take off the ring when she is with August. Removing the ring offers her the illusion of escape and freedom.