The white jade pendant is a potent symbol of the secret, unbreakable bond between Lisa and her daughter, Riley, and becomes an important representation of the novel’s exploration of Redefining the Bonds of Family. Its true meaning remains hidden for most of the novel, perfectly mirroring the core deception that warps the MacPherson family’s identity and fractures their relationships. When Riley first sees the pendant in old photographs of Lisa, she notes it only as a piece of jewelry, unaware of its profound significance. This initial, superficial perception represents the fabricated history Riley has been taught.

The pendant’s full power is revealed late in the novel when Jeannie Lyons explains she gave it to Lisa just after Riley’s birth. Jeannie clarifies the meaning of the two-sided carving: “The symbol on the front actually meant ‘mother’ and the one on the back meant ‘daughter.’ She said she’d never take it off” (265). This revelation transforms the pendant from a simple accessory into the primary emblem of Lisa and Riley’s true relationship, a truth that exists just beneath the surface of the family’s lies. The pendant demonstrates how a beautiful truth can be concealed, just as Riley’s parentage was hidden within a false family structure. The fact that Lisa continues to wear it as Jade Johnson underscores that this bond is the one part of her past she refuses to erase, symbolizing a love that endures despite separation and deceit.

The violin is a complex symbol that represents Lisa MacPherson’s fractured identity, embodying both her extraordinary public talent and the immense private pressure that led her to abandon that life. For the world and her family, the violin signifies Lisa’s status as a child prodigy, a “little violin goddess” whose gift defines her existence (54). However, this gift is also a curse, tethering her to the abusive influence of her teacher, Steven Davis, and creating an unbearable weight of expectation. The violin thus becomes the emblem of a life she did not entirely choose and, at the same time, a representation of the core of her identity, which she is forced to leave behind.

Her father’s promise to help her escape is conditional on her sacrificing this core part of her identity. He commands her, “[N]ever pick up a violin again, Lisa, understand? Never. You have to hide your light under a bushel from now on” (116-17). This demand highlights the theme of The Role of Memory and Subjective Truths in Shaping History; to create the lie of her death, Lisa must erase the most famous truth about herself. Frank MacPherson’s subsequent collecting of violins serves as a related motif, illustrating his attempt to preserve the memory of the daughter he helped to disappear. By encasing the instruments in glass, he physically manifests his grief and secrets, trapping the past in a silent museum.