Night Watch: A Novel

When Papa assaults the ridge with Bart, Eliza defends herself with a knife hidden in the chicken coop. However, after Bart’s death, Papa proceeds to assault Eliza as well, and she hides a nail in her mouth, hoping that Papa will get close enough for her to use it to kill him. Eliza does not get a chance to kill Papa, and during the assault, she drops the nail. Following the assault, Eliza keeps the nail, sharpening it and pressing it against her skin to “draw raised bloodied lines on her traitorous body” (95). Eliza’s nail is a symbol for the struggle between shame, guilt, and anger that survivors of sexual assault often feel. Eliza describes her body as “traitorous,” and dragging the nail across her skin serves as her punishment for failing to kill Papa, to protect ConaLee, and to preserve herself for Ephraim. Such feelings are the lasting consequences inflicted on her by sexual assault.

Though the nail is only briefly mentioned, it carries weight beyond Eliza’s use of it in coping with her own trauma. When Eliza blindfolds ConaLee to protect her from the sight of Bart’s dead body, and later, when Dearbhla encourages ConaLee to black out during Papa’s assaults, the nail becomes a symbol of protection.