60 pages • 2-hour read
The Maid's Secret
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Symbols & Motifs
The Fabergé Egg
The golden Fabergé egg functions as a symbol of the way that the “worth” of something can shift depending on the values of the observer. The egg first appears in the story as a sentimental object that Molly believes has little monetary value. When the Bees lay eyes on it, however, its meaning shifts: It is a one-of-a-kind prototype that has both historical significance and great financial value. This sudden “discovery” of its worth is similar to the furor over Molly herself after she appears on Hidden Treasures: As her grandfather says, “You’re a bit like the Fabergé […] Suddenly people see your value” (88). Of course, when the egg disappears, Molly’s value to others also seems to disappear—except to those true friends who have always understood her worth.
In Flora’s diary, more is revealed about the shifting value of the Fabergé egg. When it first appeared in Flora’s life, she felt that it symbolized how much more valuable possessions were than people to the Grays and the Brauns, drawing a connection to the theme of The Impact of Class and Privilege. Feeling how easily she herself could be cast aside by her parents when they no longer felt she was valuable to them, she compared herself to the golden egg, telling the egg, “Beware […] You may be a coveted treasure one day and pitched to the curb the next” (253). Ironically, this was literally the fate of the egg, which, years later, would be about to be thrown out as garbage when Molly happened by and rescued it. The comparisons of the egg’s shifting value to the shifting value of two human women warn that others’ estimations of worth can be fickle and shallow.
Gran’s Diary
Flora’s diary functions as a symbol of the hidden truths of her heart and supports the theme of The Repercussions of Family Secrets. Inside the diary, Flora writes about things she has been ashamed of or hurt by for her entire life: her parents’ treatment of her and others, her own poor treatment of John, William, and Mrs. Mead, her terrible discoveries about Algernon, the death of Mrs. Mead, her unplanned pregnancy, the decision to leave John, the terrors of the birth home, and more. She intends for Molly to read the diary, someday, but long after she is gone—this information is simply too painful to share while she is alive. Still, Flora recognizes how important this information is: She refers to the diary as “[her] heart,” acknowledging that although these things may be hidden away, they are at the center of who she is: They are her truth.
Gran locks up the diary with a “simple skeleton key, tarnished and worn” (5). The diction “skeleton key” hints at the metaphor of a skeleton in the closet, a reference to long-hidden secrets that have a way of eventually surfacing. She entrusts the diary to John Preston, just as she has entrusted him with her heart all of her adult life. When the time is right—when the family secrets Flora has been keeping catch up with Molly in the present—John delivers the diary into Molly’s keeping. This is exactly what Flora intended when, before her death, she told Molly that the object the key unlocked was “everything […] all of me” and assured her beloved granddaughter, “And it is for you” (6).
Romeo and Juliet
Throughout the novel, there is a motif of both direct and indirect references to Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. The play is alluded to through dialogue like Mrs. Meads’s comment, “They stumble who run too fast” (39), a nearly direct quote of Friar Laurence’s dialogue in Act II, Scene 3 of the play.” In another example, Flora comments that “good moments gallop apace” (176). This mimics Juliet’s language when she is awaiting Romeo on their wedding night in Act III, Scene 2: “Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds,” Juliet says (3.2.1), longing for the sun to set quickly. There is also a direct reference to Romeo and Juliet in Chapter 10 of the novel, when Flora asks John why their teacher referred to the play as “both a comedy and a tragedy” (101), and he gives her an indirect answer about love itself being both comedy and tragedy.
Although Flora and Algernon meet at a ball, just as Juliet and Romeo do in the play, they are not the star-crossed couple that Juliet and Romeo are. Flora and Algernon’s families are eager to see the young people together. The star-crossed lovers in The Maid’s Secret are really Flora and John, whose family circumstances interfere with their romantic relationship. Flora confirms this when she refers to John as “my heart’s desire and my sworn enemy” (103), an allusion to Juliet’s lament in Act I, Scene 5 after learning Romeo’s identity: “Prodigious birth of love it is to me, That I must love a loathed enemy” (Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. 1.5.140-41).
These references to Shakespeare’s classic play lend both ethos and pathos to Flora and John’s relationship. Comparing them to Romeo and Juliet lends them gravitas, importing Shakespeare’s elevated, canonical consideration of young love into Nita’s Prose’s modern depiction of a youthful romantic relationship. Since both Juliet and Romeo die as a result of their longing to be together, referencing this play also heightens the emotional stakes of John and Flora’s relationship, implying that it, too, is a tragedy for the ages.
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