Vivienne’s recurring fugue states are a motif that highlight the psychological manifestation of her repressed trauma and the fragmentation of memory. The first fugue state after the dinner party is narratively critical, as it results in the disappearance of her death-age card. This loss fuels her desperate investigation, as she recounts, “She sat back down next to her things as the realization hit her. Her envelope was gone” (60). This event isolates her from the shared fate of the other guests and positions her as an observer trying to solve a puzzle of which she is the final piece. However, Vivienne hides these missing parts of her memory from the other guests, underscoring the theme of The Fragility of the Social Mask. Her efforts to hide her trauma behind a facade instead result in the physical manifestation of them.

At the same time, these fugue states emphasize the questionable morality of Vivienne’s past and Tristan’s judgment of her. For much of the novel, Vivienne believes that her child was stillborn, resulting in unresolved guilt. Conversely, Tristan believes he was abandoned by her, assigning the sin of Envy that correlates with “rottenness to the bone” (189). Her inability to remember the truth prevents her from fully grappling with the past and acknowledging her trauma, while Tristan’s anger and resentment prevent him from seeing the truth. Ultimately, her fugue states become the thing that force and allow her discovery of the truth and her reconciliation, allowing her to survive Tristan’s attempts to pass judgment on her. In this way, her character becomes a solution to The Inescapable Weight of Past Transgressions, as she begins healing through confrontation and acceptance.