“For reasons he couldn’t quite explain, it felt like he was holding a living, breathing thing. He had only peeked at it earlier, making sure it was actually a violin he had bought and not an empty case. But now he brought it closer to him. It had the deepest amber hue that looked as though you could dive into it and lose yourself forever.”

Devlin’s early interactions with the violin foreshadow the revelation of Clara’s consciousness living within it. The violin doesn’t breathe, but it has the spirit of a once living person within it, and he feels an immediate connection. Devlin also finds the violin intoxicating, further establishing its intense power over those who possess it.

“Who would lament his absence? This thought hardened his resolve and as the strings rushed to their crescendo, Walter opened a bottle of painkillers the doctor had given him. He held the entire contents in one hand and his glass of brandy in the other. He took a deep breath…and the doorbell rang.”

Walter’s suicidal ideation connects closely to the depth of his loneliness in retirement, reflecting the theme of Longing for Change After Disappointment. Woods uses musical language (“strings” and “crescendo”) to describe the intensity of Walter’s feelings, connecting music to emotion, a connection that persists throughout the novel. Devlin interrupts Walter’s contemplation of dying by suicide, beginning Walter’s character journey from a lonely man without a purpose to an empowered man with friends, a lover, and a job.

“[Walter] saw past all of Devlin’s bravado and was somehow able to speak to the man he might become, if he stopped worrying about how he was perceived all the time.”

Devlin brings the violin to Walter because Devlin remembers the impact Walter had on him as his history teacher. Devlin’s thoughts reveal Walter’s insight and emotional intelligence and foreshadow his mentorship role in the narrative. This connection inspires Devlin’s trust in Walter and serves as the bedrock for their adult friendship.

“And yet he couldn’t help but feel as though her arrival in his life meant something. She seemed to be saying that life wasn’t through with him yet.”

The violin offers Walter a new lease on life, establishing the beginning of his character arc. The revelation of Walter’s terminal cancer diagnosis doesn’t appear until later in the novel, but Walter’s fears that his life is over permeate the early chapters before he touches the violin, and the violin offers him the belief that life can continue.

“Nature has such an exquisite way of reminding us how beautiful life can be, doesn’t she? If only we could remember to value the simple things. They are the true miracles.”

Walter’s remarks to Gabrielle about the magic of birdsong, a motif throughout the novel, hint at his discovery of life’s true meaning. Walter often has philosophical thoughts about the meaning of life, and even as he considers his own mortality, he views the world around him with beauty. This establishes his character as optimistic and open-minded, ready to embrace the opportunity for connection.

“But after that day in Dublin, it was like his whole world tilted and there was nothing for him to hold onto.”

Devlin’s past remains vague throughout the first half of The Violin Maker’s Secret, leaving the source of his trauma unclear. However, the intensity of his pain is manifested by his thought that the “world shifted,” showing her death as an event that shook the foundations of his life and identity.

“Who even spoke like that? Devlin was so moved by her passion, yet found himself dumbstruck by the way she expressed herself.”

Devlin’s romantic attraction to Gabrielle appears as soon as they meet, though he often accidentally says the wrong thing. Gabrielle makes Devlin nervous with her confident speech and passion for music, a passion that Devlin represses within himself to avoid feeling grief. The development of their relationship highlights how their journeys both involve Healing Through Unexpected Forms of Connection.

“I thought we were in love […]. But I’m not sure I even know what love is anymore.”

Devlin’s candor about his relationship with Melissa illustrates his core fears about forging romantic relationships: He fears he can’t find a relationship with someone who will appreciate him for who he truly is. His willingness to open up to Walter also illustrates the importance of the theme of healing through unexpected connections, as Walter helps Devlin process his feelings.

“He played with such skill for skill’s sake. The performer in me understood. He wanted to push himself, as well as me, to the boundaries of his ability and beyond if he could. He wasn’t satisfied with being merely another gifted violinist. He was a revolutionary. He wanted to take all of the rules and break them into pieces, which he would then pick up and create an entirely new repertoire.”

Clara’s consciousness within the violin describes Paganini’s playing style, illustrating both Woods’s appreciation for Paganini’s musical talent and the emotional connection between Paganini (the character) and the violin. Each musician who plays the violin feels a connection to it, but Paganini’s intense connection inspires him to compose “Bellezza Nascosta,” the key to bringing Clara back to William.

“They had to be equals now. Perhaps she could even become his friend. A friend who made his heart beat faster every time she walked into the room.”

Devlin feels intimidated by Gabrielle, but instead of avoiding her, he endeavors to be her friend because he can sense her loneliness. Devlin tries to deny his romantic feelings, but they’re too strong to ignore, and he’s too emotionally self-aware to avoid them. He acknowledges the depth of his feelings only indirectly, with his heart beating “faster” the only indication of the feelings that underlie their friendship.

“That was when everything changed. Suddenly, she was no longer a little girl, she was gifted. And now people expected things, speaking of her future as though it were a destination they were all sailing towards in a boat she herself must build. But the grown-ups forgot to ask her if she wanted to go to that place. It’s what your mother would have wanted, her father used to say. And no one can disobey a dying woman’s wish. You just can’t.”

Gabrielle reflects on her childhood through the lens of her musical talent. Gabrielle felt immense pressure to succeed for those around her, and her metaphor of a “boat she herself must build” indicates how she sees the adults in her life depending on her without taking her own desires into consideration. Everyone expected her to succeed, and these expectations caused Gabrielle to begin to root her self-worth in her musical ability.

“You’re not wrong […]. Carpentry is a part of the craft, along with artistic sensibility and exceptional technical ability. It is said that making a violin is the marriage of mathematics and nature.”

Gabrielle describes the mixture of art and science that making a violin requires, which further illustrates Woods’s understanding of violin construction and her appreciation of the intricacy of the craft. The specific language also further establishes Gabrielle’s expertise in music and appraisal, and the fact that this expertise is balanced by a love for the ineffable aspects of music as well.

“He nodded again, then stood up to leave. She refused to look at him and for a moment, he tried to put himself in her shoes. That fierce pride was covering up something he knew all too well.”

Devlin almost leaves after Gabrielle tries to shut him out at the hospital, but he realizes that she’s hiding her pain with a standoffish exterior. Devlin practices empathy, putting “himself in her shoes,” and decides to confide in her about his feelings to inspire her to do the same. This passage indicates both Devlin’s emotional intelligence and his ability to set his own emotions aside while considering hers.

“She meant every word, even if it made her a hypocrite. Wasn’t that exactly what she had done to herself? But that’s different, a voice whispered inside. You deserve it.”

Gabrielle encourages Devlin not to blame himself for Summer’s death and to let himself move on, but she doesn’t practice what she preaches. Her internal voice encourages her to keep punishing herself, illustrating the depth of her emotional turmoil. Her inner conflict is illustrated by the dissenting voice in her head, but hearing Devlin’s confession about his own past is the first step toward recognizing the unhealthy patterns of thought she practices about her trauma.

“He was falling for her. Walter knew it and now Gabrielle probably knew it, too. He picked up another screw and drilled it into the doorframe, trying to forget the whole damn thing.”

Devlin comes to realize the depth of his feelings for Gabrielle, but after her refusal to discuss their kiss, he tries to repress his desire for her. Devin and Gabrielle’s romantic relationship has lots of ups and downs, and Devlin consistently struggles to break down Gabrielle’s emotional walls. In this moment, however, he tries to set the issue aside and focus on what is in front of him, illustrating his characteristic patience.

“In fact, now that he had drawn her attention to it, there was a strange human quality to it. Like a woman’s head arching backwards, as though all of her cares were thrown onto the wind. Even the pegs now had a familiar look to them; something she hadn’t perceived before, despite studying every inch of the violin when it was in her possession. They almost looked like delicate finger bones.”

Gabrielle’s view of the physical violin hints at the violin’s possession of Clara’s consciousness as she sees “a woman’s head arching backwards.” The description of the pegs as “bones” refers to “The Two Sisters” ballad, the song upon which Woods bases the violin’s backstory, in which a man builds an instrument out of a woman’s hair and bones.

“As if her entire worth as a person wasn’t tied up in what people thought of her. As if her whole childhood had not been built on the four words, be a good girl.”

Gabrielle again considers the pressure of her childhood and how it impacted her in a therapy session with Trudy. Regardless of how old she is, Gabrielle still struggles with people-pleasing, and though she’s aware of her patterns of behavior, she struggles to break them. Her awareness, however, is an early step in her journey toward change and the reclamation of her own voice.

“Even though he was dying inside, his priority was always to make people smile. He was one of those rare species facing extinction—a good person.”

Gabrielle describes Devlin as a “good person” as he tries to make a flight attendant laugh while struggling with his debilitating fear of planes. Though she once judged Devlin for his external appearance and lack of knowledge about violins, their time together changes her mind and helps her see Devlin’s deeper self. Gabrielle’s insight also emphasizes how well she has come to know and respect Devlin.

“There was no doubting her incredible fortitude and courage, but there was something about the extreme independence she displayed—pushing people away—that struck a chord with him. So he wanted to be there, just in case she needed him.”

Woods again uses musical language, in this case “struck a chord,” to describe Devlin’s empathy for Gabrielle. Devlin stays with Gabrielle even when she tries to push him away because he recognizes that she hides her pain behind a stony exterior, a recognition that stems from his own pain and his understanding of Gabrielle as a person. This passage also highlights his steadfast support, which she hasn’t received from anyone else in her life,

“She was led here, by her gut and (if she was being honest) by the violin. At every turn in the road, she felt as though she were being led by its voice.”

The violin functions as a driving force that motivates the trio of protagonists to improve their lives. Here, however, Gabrielle acknowledges its role as more than a narrative device; it is a force that is guiding her toward personal transformation.

“Verity adored music. It almost seemed magical to her because even though it was invisible—you couldn’t touch it or see it—you could feel it. When she would play records, her flesh would prickle with goosebumps, her heart rate would quicken and a doorway would open in her mind.”

In Verity, the novel offers a complex antagonist. Her passion for music humanizes her, even as she villainously provokes those who stand between her and the violin. It also draws a parallel between her and the protagonists, further complicating the portrayal of her character.

“The strangest thing, out of all of the strangeness, was that there was no sound. It silently fell away to dust in her hands.”

The violin disintegrates as soon as it sees the sun after Gabrielle’s playing of “Bellezza Nascosta,” and Clara returns to William in the afterlife. The music provided by the violin vanishes silently, letting Clara go back to her lover and illustrating that the trio has achieved their goals of improving their lives.

“After the whole Max incident in Ireland, watching that young woman under his control, she decided that the only real way to make a difference was to become a teacher herself. For now, she was tutoring five young girls who all showed great promise, and tonight was their first performance.”

Gabrielle’s character arc ends with her returning to her musical passion and reclaiming her voice. Instead of staying silent about Max, she tells the police about his abuse and decides to become a teacher herself, protecting young girls from predatory instructors and nurturing their artistic sensibilities. Instead of running from her past, Gabrielle finally faces it, finding happiness even in the wake of her pain.