Maeve Fly

The dolls that Gideon makes are a symbol of Maeve’s hidden identity, thereby conveying the theme of The Distinction Between the Private Self and the Public Persona. Although Maeve spends much of the novel not knowing where they come from or who is making them, they repeatedly instill juxtaposing feelings within her. She admires the first doll as “carefully and lovingly” constructed, yet it also makes her feel “unsettled [and] deeply disturbed” (26). She becomes enraged by the second doll despite feeling that “it is so beautiful [she] do[es] not know what to do with [herself]” (133). Then, throughout the novel, the dolls regularly infiltrate her thoughts, making her uneasy when she is with Gideon or Kate, and constantly giving her the feeling that “someone is watching” (86).

The dolls represent both Maeve’s biggest fear and her biggest wish: that someone understands who she truly is. Throughout the novel, Maeve fears having her private life discovered—so much so that she kills Gideon despite her love for him. Paradoxically, she has an equally intense fear of remaining undiscovered—and thus alone—forever. In this way, the dolls and their duality reflect the complexities of Maeve. She knows that her violent nature needs to be hidden, yet it is also the thing that prevents her from ever truly connecting with anyone. She is “deeply disturbed,” yet also “loving” and “beautiful”—just like the dolls—as she is fiercely loyal to both her grandmother and Kate.

The fact that Gideon creates these dolls emphasizes just how deep their personal connection runs. The revelation that he, too, is a serial killer shows that he truly understands who Maeve is—and he tries to convey that understanding through the dolls he constructs for her. The final doll, which is “a wolf’s body with a fly’s wings,” holding a “tiny jack-o’-lantern” (270), personifies who Maeve is, as she is both a fly to the public and a wolf in her private life.