The Names offers a detailed portrait of abuse within the home. Through three different versions of the Atkin family’s dynamic, the novel depicts both the physical and psychological impact of domestic abuse. Knapp also examines the multifaceted and enduring effects of intimate partner maltreatment on individuals, families, and future generations.

Gordon Jr.’s storyline, in which Cora is mistreated by her husband for decades, illustrates the ways domestic abuse extends beyond physical violence. The narrative documents Gordon Sr.’s social isolation of his wife, cutting her off from friends and family, so she has no access to outside help. He also maintains financial control of Cora, preventing her from leaving. This psychological warfare escalates gradually over time, making it progressively difficult for her to escape. At the same time, Gordon Sr. conducts a prolonged campaign of physically demeaning and humiliating his wife, illustrated when he pushes her face into the lasagna she makes and stuffs a cotton pad into her mouth. He reinforces this physical dominance with psychological manipulation, gaslighting her into doubting her grasp on reality.

Cora’s narrative point-of-view illustrates the devastating impact on the psyche when danger is ever-present. The sense of dread Cora feels as she awaits Gordon’s outbursts is almost worse than the violence itself. Consequently, “It takes all her strength not to sink to his feet and let him kick her, to not even try to escape its inevitability, but to submit, because this anticipation only delays what she knows is coming” (16). Knapp also conveys the all-consuming nature of trying to anticipate and prevent Gordon’s rages. Constantly vigilant and hyperaware of situations that may trigger his anger, Cora adopts mollifying behaviors even though her attempts to appease her husband almost always prove futile.

The novel illustrates how Cora’s identity is slowly eroded by her husband’s violence and coercive control. Her reluctance to confide in her mother or Mehri highlights the shame often experienced by survivors of domestic abuse, prompting them to conceal their suffering behind a veil of secrecy. Cora’s situation also illustrates the hurdles that prevent many women from leaving abusive relationships as she reflects on “the unscalable obstacles of where they’ll go, how she’ll get money, who’ll even believe her, how she’ll stop him taking the children from her” (28). In each of the three narrative threads, Cora attempts to surmount these obstacles with varying degrees of success and failure, underscoring the challenges these logistical barriers present.

Knapp uses metaphor and figurative language to convey the visceral impact of Gordon Sr.’s abuse on Cora and her children. Through Maia, Knapp conveys the emotional strain of growing up in a household with an atmosphere akin to “an overtightened violin string” that is about to “snap” (29). The impact of being a silent witness to her father’s brutality is illustrated when she vomits after seeing him force Cora to eat from the floor like an animal. The physical response expresses the inner turmoil that Maia cannot articulate. Maia also takes on the burden of attempting to protect her mother. However, her powerlessness to do so is demonstrated when she writes to her grandmother, and Cora refuses Sílbhe’s help. Maia carries the trauma of growing up in a violent home into adulthood. Once she has left home, her coping mechanism is denial. Maia avoids confronting the likelihood that her mother is still being abused “because it [feels] too big and hard to deal with” (194). Meanwhile, Gordon Jr.’s trajectory demonstrates the danger that, when domestic abuse becomes normalized, future generations are at risk of perpetuating this behavior. The product of his own father’s emotional abuse, Gordon Sr.’s influence on his son encourages Gordon Jr. to become complicit in Cora’s mistreatment.

The novel presents a nuanced depiction of domestic abuse: a subject often shrouded in secrecy and silence. Knapp depicts the many forms that abuse within the home can take and its devastating long-term effects without offering any easy answers. Cora’s character illustrates how consistent mistreatment by a loved one undermines self-esteem and identity, making it even more difficult to escape. Meanwhile, the experiences of her children demonstrate the challenges of helping an abused individual and the danger of replicating domestic abuse through learned behavior.