The Identicals

The novel’s foremost symbol is the geographical and cultural dichotomy between Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. The two islands represent the deep schism within the Frost family and the divergent identities of the twin sisters, Tabitha and Harper. This symbolism is foundational to Hilderbrand’s thematic engagement with The Power of Place in Shaping Identity. The opening chapters personify the islands, establishing them as distinct characters with opposing values: Nantucket is portrayed as Eleanor and Tabitha’s world—structured, stately, and traditional—while Martha’s Vineyard reflects Billy and Harper’s existence, depicted as laid-back and rebellious. This stark contrast frames the sisters’ estrangement as both a personal conflict and a clash of cultures embodied by their respective homes.

Hilderbrand structures her narrative around this symbolic opposition. The novel’s inciting conflict is the island swap, a literal trading of identities that forces each sister to navigate the other’s world. Hilderbrand establishes the symbolic stakes immediately, framing the islands as “two distinct nations, each with its own ways, its own means, its own traditions, histories, and secrets” (5). This personification underscores the idea that identity is not innate but profoundly shaped by one’s environment.