57 pages • 1-hour read
The Blue Hour
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Symbols & Motifs
The Island
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.
The fictional island of Eris is an important setting in the novel. It also carries symbolic functions and supports the theme of Public Persona Versus Personal Identity. The island is remote and difficult to access, which symbolizes the loneliness and isolation that Grace, Vanessa, and (to a lesser degree) Becker feel. As a tidal island, Eris is also a liminal space that is sometimes isolated and sometimes accessible depending on the time of day, which affects the tides. This characterization symbolizes how individuals may try to hide aspects of their personalities and histories but seldom succeed in doing so completely. Vanessa largely wanted to keep her personal experiences unknown but could not resist recording her intimate thoughts and feelings in journals and letters. Her emotional state often also influenced her art. Likewise, Grace tries to isolate herself but comes to feel drawn to Becker and risks the discovery of her crimes so that she can experience a connection to someone.
The impermanent and shifting nature of access to the island also reflects how characters in the novel (Becker in particular) only have limited and fragmentary access to the truth about past events; this contributes to The Subjective Nature of Truth and Memory. Through Vanessa’s papers and conversations with Grace, Becker can sometimes gain information about past events, but he usually only has limited and short-term access. This symbolism is heightened because, as with access to the island, limited access to the truth is dangerous. If someone is caught on the causeway at high tide, they could drown; likewise, because Becker ends up with fragments of information but lacks the complete truth (that Grace is a killer), he ends up in a dangerous and ultimately fatal situation.
The Bone
A fragment of bone in Vanessa’s sculpture, Division II, creates the inciting action leading to the primary conflict in the plot. The bone also symbolizes how the past never completely vanishes. Although bodies might decay, skeletons can linger for thousands of years. Grace hid Nick Riley’s body in the woods, and while most of it rotted away over time, the bones remain present (leading to Vanessa mistakenly incorporating one in her sculpture). The lingering presence of the bones symbolizes how this crime continues to pose a threat to Grace even decades later and how it can resurface at almost any time. While Nick’s bones represent a violent act from Grace’s past, they more broadly symbolize how past traumas linger. Grace’s tendency toward violent rages is shaped by the abandonment she experiences when her friendships end. Likewise, Becker’s insecurities from growing up working-class continue to linger and shape his doubts about whether he truly deserves to be with Helena. Both Becker and Grace have been professionally successful, but they carry lingering grief and shame. These emotional experiences persist like the skeletons of the dead. The symbolism of the bones also relates to themes of artistic legacy.
Becker’s Vomit
When Becker learns (via a phone call from Sebastian) that the bone in the sculpture has finally been identified as belonging to Nick Riley, he vomits. Becker vomits as a reaction of shock and horror because he realizes that Grace must have killed Nick and that he is now trapped on an isolated island with a murderer; the vomit also reveals that he has been drugged (nausea and vomiting are side effects from the morphine that Grace has secretly administered). The vomit symbolizes the revelation of the truth and Becker’s vulnerability.
After a period of mystery surrounding the bone and what connection Grace has to it, the truth is finally presented to Becker: Something that has been hidden inside (of the sculpture and Grace’s secret history) becomes public and visible. The vomit symbolizes this revealed truth because when someone throws up, something from inside of their bodies is expelled outside in an involuntary way. Likewise, Grace’s secret crime goes from being hidden to being visible to Becker, even though she would have preferred for it to remain hidden. Like vomit, the truth that emerges is repulsive. Finally, vomiting typically requires cleaning up, and this is part of why this moment is terrifying for Becker. Now that he knows the truth, Grace can’t let him leave the island lest he take this information to the police. Vomiting symbolizes his realization that his fate is sealed.
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