52 pages • 1-hour read
Who Is Maud Dixon?
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Symbols & Motifs
Mississippi Foxtrot
Maud Dixon’s debut novel, Mississippi Foxtrot, is a motif that highlights The Tension Between Reality and Fiction. Florence looks to the novel for inspiration when she moves to New York City because Maud Dixon’s literary voice “was like nothing Florence had ever read before: sharp and savage, almost violent” (13). Florence realizes later that the reason for this unique voice is that Helen blends reality and fiction in her writing. Instead of creating a unique literary voice, Helen uses Mississippi Foxtrot to confess her crimes under the guise of fiction.
Helen’s decision to exploit the real murder of Ellis and to profit from Jenny’s punishment reveals that Helen does not understand the significance of her actions. The novel shows how Helen has never tried to hide the reality of herself as a murderer. Instead, the public does not know how to interpret the novel because they are too enamored with Maud Dixon’s mysterious identity. Mississippi Foxtrot signifies how disconnected both Helen and her audience have become from reality because no one sees the truth of who Helen is even when it is in front of them.
Prescription Pills
Prescription pills symbolize power in the novel. Both Florence and Helen use their pain pills to control situations. Florence’s decision to drug Whitney to protect her former identity signifies the start of Florence’s transformation toward criminal activity. This moment also shows how Florence feels desperate to control the power dynamics in social situations. Since Florence struggles with insecurity, she feels compelled to retain her newfound power after becoming Helen.
Although Florence feels guilty about drugging Whitney, she believes that keeping her secrets safe is more important than Whitney’s safety. Florence detaches herself from her sense of morality to protect herself and remain in control. The presence of prescription pills emphasizes the lengths that Florence and Helen will go to achieve their goals.
The Age of Monsters
The Age of Monsters is a symbol that represents Helen’s constant deception. Helen gives her fake manuscript entitled The Age of Monsters to Florence to copy; however, Florence soon discovers that it is a collection of pages from Peter Bowles’s novel. Florence’s discovery that The Age of Monsters is a distraction from the real novel that Helen is writing—The Morocco Exchange—highlights how everything Helen has told Florence has been based on falsehood. Florence’s horror in discovering the second novel builds suspense and creates an ominous tone for the rest of the novel.
Within The Morocco Exchange, Florence discovers that Helen thinks that she is pathetic and that she wants to kill Florence to try out a new identity. Florence’s discovery of the double novels allows for the full revelation of the mystery of Helen’s actions because Florence realizes that Helen has been lying to her since they first met each other. Helen uses the identity of Maud Dixon to hide behind her novels, which is why Florence does not suspect her of being a murderer until it is almost too late.
The Compost Pile
The compost pile is a symbol that represents secrets and Helen’s desire to cover up her past crimes. When Florence is at Helen’s house, she knows about the presence of the compost pile by the carriage house, but it is not until she is in Morocco that she learns that Jenny’s body was decomposing in the compost pile. The discovery of Jenny’s body makes Florence realize that she should not trust Helen.
The compost pile represents the way that Helen believes that she can make all her problems, including people, disappear. However, when it becomes clear that other people may discover the extent of Helen’s crimes, she escapes to Morocco so that even if her secrets are uncovered, she will not be held responsible for them. Helen’s desire to let her problems disintegrate in the compost pile signifies her perspective on the greater problems in her life. Rather than allowing herself to be held responsible for her crimes, Helen tries to make every aspect of her past disappear.
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