The Good Samaritan

The telephone in The Good Samaritan is the novel’s central symbol, representing the deceptive nature of anonymous communication. It functions as a paradoxical object: For the callers, it is a potential lifeline, but in Laura’s hands, it becomes a weapon. The phone creates an artificial intimacy, allowing Laura to bypass physical and emotional barriers to access her victims’ deepest vulnerabilities. This detached connection is the perfect medium for her predatory compulsions, as it allows her to project an image of a caring confidante while orchestrating murder. The telephone thus symbolizes a modern form of violence where intimacy is manufactured and empathy is weaponized, proving that the most devastating manipulation requires no physical contact at all.

This symbolism is most evident in how the phone empowers Laura’s duplicity. Away from the receiver, she is a suburban mother, but on the line, she becomes a godlike figure, calmly judging who should live or die. She uses a well-rehearsed, alternately sympathetic and aggressive speech to test potential candidates, a tactic that relies on the caller’s isolation and inability to see her. For instance, she challenges a caller by asking, “Are you just trapped in a cycle of self-pity? […] Can you live like that, Steven? I know I couldn’t” (27).