The Blue Hour

“All the years on Eris Island—more than twenty of them now—have made Grace tidal. A lunatic. An actual lunatic! Governed by the moon.”

This quotation introduces Grace and her isolated life on Eris. The quotation puns on the word “lunatic” since the etymology of this word relates to the Latin word luna, or “moon.” Individuals who displayed strange behavior were sometimes believed to be responding to the waxing and waning of the moon. The joke refers to how, living in isolation, Grace has become subject to the rhythms of nature rather than the constructed social world. It also darkly foreshadows Grace’s capacity for violence.

“Why is it, he rushes on, trying to move the discussion to safer ground, that we are so interested in the private lives of artists?”

This quotation occurs during a radio documentary that Becker is listening to as he drives to Eris for the first time. The topic of the documentary is the novelist Daphne du Maurier, but the comment contextualizes the fascination that Becker will display as he strives to learn more about Vanessa Chapman. The quotation alludes to the desire that Becker feels to deepen a sense of intimacy with an artist by unearthing the details of her life. His interest in “the private lives of artists” connects to the theme of Public Persona Versus Personal Identity.

“Chapman’s work received accolades, and her looks—dark-eyed, dewy-skinned, graceful, slender—were praised effusively, while her character was not.”

This quotation summarizes the reviews and critiques that Becker pores over as he researches Vanessa. The quotation makes it clear that Vanessa’s gender and appearance were a topic of interest: Because she was a beautiful woman, critics were simultaneously more interested in her art and more apt to disparage her personality. The quotation points to the novel’s exploration of the barriers that creative women face.

“I’m no art critic. Everyone gets so bogged down in the theory, but sometimes it’s just about necessity.”

Grace speaks this quotation to Becker right before she explains that a change in Vanessa’s brushstrokes (a subject of interest to scholars and critics) resulted from her having a cast on her wrist. It reveals that Grace, while not particularly interested in art criticism or theory, can offer unique insights into Vanessa’s process and inspiration simply because she knows so many intimate details about Vanessa’s life. It also sets the stage for Becker to cultivate a friendship with Grace because he wants access to these kinds of details, which only Grace can provide.

“Mr. Becker made her feel safe. Isn’t that ridiculous? First he frightened her, then he made her feel safe.”

This quotation occurs as Grace reflects on her feelings after Becker makes his first visit to Eris. The contact with another person makes Grace realize that she is quite lonely, and she quickly becomes emotionally invested in what she perceives as a friendship. This quotation reveals that Grace does not initially have any malevolent intentions toward Becker; rather, she hopes that the two of them can become close.

“Grace places this letter on top of the pile she intends Becker to read. He will see how Vanessa loved her, he’ll see that she’s a fundamental part of Vanessa’s story.”

This quotation occurs as Grace sorts through some documents and prepares to hand them over to Becker. While Grace initially gives Becker the impression that she is simply giving him random documents, she is carefully curating and selecting the documents to control the impression that he forms. This quotation connects to The Subjective Nature of Truth and Memory, as Grace is not interested in Becker accessing the truth; she only wants him to see a certain version of events in which she is “fundamental” to Vanessa.

“There will be no fundamental reassessment of who Vanessa Chapman was, there will be no disgrace—not for her and not for James Becker, her cheerleader-in-chief.”

This quotation expresses the relief that Becker feels when he reads the diary entry confirming that Vanessa was genuinely mistaken when she picked up the human bone, believing that it belonged to an animal. It shows that Becker strongly identifies with Vanessa—he is protective of her because he does not want his professional reputation to be jeopardized, evidenced by the phrase “there will be no disgrace.” The quotation also illustrates that Becker is not a neutral or disinterested party: He has a strong emotional stake in Vanessa’s legacy; he describes himself as “her cheerleader-in-chief.” This emotional connection sometimes renders him vulnerable.

“It’s not worth it, he thought. She’s not worth it.”

This quotation describes Becker’s memory of the conversation when Helena told him that she wanted to leave Sebastian and pursue a relationship with him. Although he desired Helena, Becker’s initial reaction was panic because he assumed that he would have to give up his job (and, by extension, his opportunity to devote his life to Vanessa’s art). He subsequently learned that he could have both, but Becker’s initial priority was his career. This quotation shows the extent of Becker’s ambition and his intense love for Vanessa’s art.

“I owe her my life. I owe her everything.”

This quotation comes from one of Vanessa’s diary entries, when she describes her emotions after she was attacked and Grace saved her. The traumatic experience created an intense bond between the two women and led Vanessa to a new appreciation of Grace’s loyalty, feeling like she owed her “everything.” The quotation shows that while the friendship between Vanessa and Grace could be tense, it also had genuine elements of loyalty and care.

“How could she have explained, when all other loves are seen as subordinate to romantic love? What she and Vanessa had was not romantic, but it was not subordinate, either.”

This quotation reveals Grace’s thoughts as she reflects on the complex nature of her bond with Vanessa. Grace is often frustrated that people fail to understand the intense nature of her love for Vanessa, even though she was not romantically or sexually attracted to her. The quotation implies that society often fails to understand and value other types of relationships beyond romantic love.

“What’s worse, what is utterly abject, is the way that women like you—the pretty, the chosen—the way you collude in that contempt.”

Grace spoke this quotation to Vanessa when she confronted her after Julian said cruel things to Grace. Grace was upset that Julian was dismissive of her because she is unattractive. She was also angry because she believed that Vanessa did not stand up for her. The quotation shows how Julian became a source of tension and conflict between the two women. This sets the stage for the jealous rage in which Grace would kill Julian.

“You go to a place, and it’s beautiful and unspoiled, and you are doing that thing you love, and then someone—not always a man, I suppose, but usually a man—comes along and transforms it into an ugly place.”

Grace speaks this quotation as she describes to Becker the changes that occurred after Vanessa was attacked. Vanessa became much more anxious about being alone on the island, while she had previously loved the solitude there. Grace muses on the impact of violence, and especially gendered violence, on her sense of connection and safety. She juxtaposes the island going from “beautiful and unspoiled” to “an ugly place” due to a man’s violent intervention.

“Grace is like a magician, conjuring letters and sketches and bones out of nothing. Or a cat, perhaps, bringing her treasures to lay at his feet.”

This quotation captures Becker’s musings as he continues to look at the documents that Grace procures for him. By this point, it is becoming clear to Becker that Grace is actively controlling the narrative by giving him specific documents in specific sequences. Thus, this quote marks a shift in the subjective nature of truth and memory. His simile compares her to a magician, as she makes information emerge before his eyes, “conjuring” material out of nothing. Additionally, she brings Becker “treasures,” leaving them at his feet like a cat. He is slightly suspicious because of this behavior, but he is also so curious that he is determined to find out as much as he can.

“Sometimes people like us have our own quiet attractions.”

Grace makes this comment to Becker after he reveals to her that Helena was initially engaged to Sebastian. The comment shows that Grace feels a sense of affinity with Becker and believes that they are similar to one another. It alludes to the largely imaginary friendship that Grace is fixating on and sets the stage for her to feel cruelly betrayed when she realizes that Becker is largely indifferent to her.

“She allows herself to drift into reverie, to a time in the future where Becker comes to stay at the island for days, weeks even, sometimes bringing his wife and the baby, sometimes coming alone.”

This quotation reveals Grace’s unrealistic fantasies about the type of emotional connection that she feels has been established between herself and Becker. The quotation is also an example of dramatic irony (in which the reader is aware of something that a character does not know): As Grace is contentedly indulging her fantasy, the reader knows that Becker has already abruptly left the island. The gap between Grace’s imagination and the reality of how Becker treats her causes Grace intense pain and humiliation. This connects to the theme of public persona versus personal identity.

“The thing that stayed with her, afterward, was not so much the shock of abandonment, or the hurt or the rejection, it was the excruciating shame of it all.”

This quotation occurs as Grace recalls the traumatic experience of being abruptly abandoned by Nick and Audrey after she believed that they were all close friends. This experience left Grace permanently unsure about her ability to trust people and cultivate friendships; it also left her susceptible to committing acts of violence when she felt abandoned.

“On the surface or beneath it, there is always some residue, some mark left when a path divides, when a life becomes a different one.”

This quotation occurs as Grace thinks about how traces of long-ago storms are still visible on the island; these traces become a metaphor for her to contemplate how individuals likewise often carry lifelong scars from incidents and choices. The quotation shows that Grace can be astute, even when she seems to be powerless to restrain her violent behavior. Grace is keenly interested in how people’s lives are transformed by events, but she does not fully acknowledge to what extent she meddles and attempts to control other people.

“All is fair in love and war, and friendship is love, too, isn’t it? And a kind of war sometimes, as well.”

This quotation occurs after Grace reveals that she intentionally disrupted one of Vanessa’s other friendships by destroying a letter. It shows that Grace was not simply intense in her feelings for Vanessa: She could be duplicitous and manipulative. This quotation marks a transition as Hawkins gradually reveals more and more about Grace’s sinister behavior, foreshadowing the revelation that she is a dangerous killer.

“If Grace allows herself to think about it, she wonders whether in the end she gave Vanessa the extra dose of morphine to ease her pain, or just to shut her up.”

This quotation reveals that Grace intentionally administered an overdose of morphine to hasten Vanessa’s death and that this may not have been a consensual, medically assisted death. The quotation implies instead that Grace simply administered the overdose and killed Vanessa of her own volition. This information heightens the gradual reveal that Grace is much more sinister than she initially appears.

“You can try to write me out of her story, but you won’t succeed. I will always be a part of it.”

Grace speaks this quotation when she lashes out at Becker: She is fiercely defensive when Becker finds out that she has indeed been hiding artwork. Grace feels entitled to access to Vanessa’s art and legacy, and she wants to be recognized for the role she played in Vanessa’s life. The quotation reveals that much of Grace’s anger stems from feeling unappreciated and unacknowledged, evidenced by the metaphor comparing her to being written out of Vanessa’s “story.”

“I can say that, you see, because I know where Julian is, and he’s not in the wood.”

Grace speaks this quotation when she finally reveals to Becker that she was the one to kill Julian. The quotation resolves the central mystery, but it does not represent security: Grace only shares this information because she has decided to kill Becker. Thus, she feels confident that he will never be able to reveal her secret to anyone. The quotation also shows that Grace has been lying and manipulating all along.

“She is a doctor, a friend, a carer. She is a killer.”

This quotation occurs as Grace reflects on the multiple identities she holds: doctor, friend, carer, and killer. At this point, Grace is blatantly drugging Becker to keep him on the island and no longer attempting to hide her violent tendencies. The quotation shows that Grace is honest about her history but that she also feels justified in the acts she has committed. Grace acknowledges that she has killed others, but she sees herself in a more complex light where her identity as a killer coexists with her more caring roles.

“Grace killed Julian. Grace destroyed Vanessa’s work. How did it take him so long to see the light?”

This quotation captures Becker’s realization that Grace has been lying to him all along. Becker only sees everything clearly as he is dying when it is too late for this information to be of any use to him. It reveals that truth can still be futile and doesn’t necessarily ensure a better outcome. It is also ironic because, presumably, no one except Becker will ever know this information.