An Anonymous Girl: A Novel

“Moral questions lurk everywhere.”

The Nature of Morality is a central question in the novel, and both Dr. Shields and Jessica regularly consider and test their own moral reasoning as they attempt to win power over one another. Moral questions also exist in everyday life, and Jessica notices these dilemmas in everything she does.

“You return to your seat and lean forward. Your eyes flit across the screen as you read the question once more.”

Dr. Shields watches Jessica as she sits in the testing room. She describes Jessica’s exact movements and detailed body language, right down to the way Jessica’s eyes move and how many times she reads the question. It is already clear that Dr. Shields is a keen observer.

“Not everyone is brave enough to face their demons.”

Dr. Shields uses a cliché as she comments about Jessica’s bravery and her willingness to reveal things about herself that she considers humiliating or negative. This aspect of Jessica’s character is what leads her into trouble, as her honesty in the initial phase of the experiment leads Dr. Shields to want to use her for much more. Ironically, Dr. Shields proves to have the most difficult time of all the main characters when it comes to facing her past and decisions.

“In every lifetime, there are pivot points that shape and eventually cement one’s path. Thomas Cooper’s materialization was one of these seismic moments.”

Dr. Shields frequently refers to pivotal decisions that shape one’s life and how these moments can alter the entire course of someone’s future. Her own pivotal decisions include locking her sister out and pushing Thomas away after April died. Additionally, Dr. Shields considers the moment she met Thomas to be one of the most important days of her life.

“Your mind is curious by nature, and you alternately shy away from and embrace risks. Which side of you will win dominance today?”

Dr. Shields comments on the dualistic nature of Jessica’s personality, citing her tendency to flip between a riskier self and a more methodical, cautious self. Jessica has been leaning into her riskier side for a long time, and it has led her nowhere; it is not until she decides to be more methodical that she finally escapes Dr. Shields’s grasp.

“You may have given up your dreams of theater, Jessica, but you have earned a starring role in the next act of this unfolding drama.”

Dr. Shields uses a theater metaphor to describe the next phase of her experiment and Jessica’s life as Jessica falls prey to Dr. Shields’s control. Jessica’s choice to work with Dr. Shields illustrates how the decisions that one makes continue to influence a person long after they are made.

“My heels sound too loud tapping against the ornate wood floor. I’m acutely conscious of my stride, and not just because I’m unaccustomed to wearing pumps.”

This vivid description of Jessica’s shoes as they hit the wooden floor brings the reader into the moment and adds auditory imagery to the story. There is also a hint of sarcastic humor here as Jessica comments on not being used to the type of shoes she was asked to wear.

“Although you know that you are being observed, the true subject, the man in the blue shirt, must remain unaware that he is being scrutinized.”

Dr. Shields wants to obtain absolute control over both Thomas and Jessica and does everything in her power to manipulate what they do and do not know. The Stronghold of Obsession that Dr. Shields succumbs to consumes her entire life and consciousness.

“You have experience in theater. How close have you come to envisioning the cast? Paul, the powerful father. Cynthia, the former beauty-queen mother. And Lydia, high-achieving older daughter.”

Dr. Shields metaphorically relates Jessica’s experience in theater to her own family and the superficial way they act while they are together. She thinks about what Jessica might think of her and her family. The quote also subtly hints that Dr. Shields has an absent (deceased) younger sister.

“Now you are both in place, set on a collision course.”

Here, Dr. Shields uses a cliché to describe how she has manipulated both Thomas and Jessica into the exact positions she wants them to be in so she can find out if Thomas is still being unfaithful. Ironically, she does not realize just how closely Thomas and Jessica collide until the final chapters.

“Prey.

The term Thomas used is chilling. I can almost see Dr. Shields’s lips forming that exact word as she stroked the crown of the glass falcon in her office a few weeks ago.”

Jessica focuses on the specific word that Thomas uses to describe the people that Dr. Shields controls and often hurts. It is a direct reference to the falcon sculpture that Dr. Shields gifted her husband, which symbolized her power over him and her willingness to attack if needed.

“I’m not anything special to her. I’m just useful, like a warm cashmere shawl or a shiny object to be dangled in front of her husband.”

Here, the authors use a simile as Jessica compares her position in Dr. Shields’s life to the shawl that Dr. Shields let her keep. She feels like an object or a tool that is being wielded and used for Dr. Shields’s benefit and feels humiliated by the acts that Dr. Shields has her committing. In doing these things, Jessica begins confronting uncomfortable truths about herself and learning that she, too, has a more selfish side.

“Or has the tenor of your evening shifted? Perhaps the noises are not comforting tonight. The long, anemic wail of a police car. A heated argument in the apartment next door. The scrabble of mice in the baseboards. You may be thinking of the unreliable lock on your building’s front door. It’s so easy for a stranger, or even an acquaintance, to slip in.”

Dr. Shields muses on Jessica’s mood from afar, priding herself in the way she has likely stirred up paranoia and panic in Jessica. She implies that Jessica is vulnerable to some sort of intrusion or aggression but never says exactly what that is, leaving an atmosphere of suspense until the novel’s climax.

“Dr. Shields is tangling me up; it’s like a Chinese finger trap—the harder I struggle to escape, the more tightly I’m imprisoned.”

Jessica compares her entanglement with Dr. Shields to a classic, tube-shaped toy; when a finger is inserted in both ends, the toy tightens when one pulls their fingers apart and slackens only when the fingers are brought together. Due to Dr. Shields’s obsession, Jessica cannot escape by slipping away or running. Instead, she has to get closer to Dr. Shields in order to loosen her grip and find a way to overcome Dr. Shields’s tactics.

“I have no idea if I’m traveling down the right path now. I’m hopscotching through a minefield, but I don’t know how much she knows, so I have to give her a piece of the truth.”

Jessica metaphorically compares her situation to the dangers of navigating a minefield. She has only portions of the truth herself, and she must be careful what she reveals to or conceals from Dr. Shields. This mood of being lost and unsure follows through the entire novel.

“Every therapist knows the truth shape-shifts; it is as elusive and wispy as a cloud. It morphs into different incarnations, resisting attempts to define it, molding itself to the viewpoint of whoever claims to possess it.”

Dr. Shields muses on the nature of morality and truth, noting how the truth tends to vary depending on who is asked and who holds the secrets. Throughout the experiment, the truth changes hands many times, and it takes weeks for both Jessica and Dr. Shields to find the answers to their questions as they deceive each other over and over again. In this metaphor, Dr. Shields compares the truth to an ever-changing cloud.

“Jessica, everything is riding on your words.”

Dr. Shields has an intense obsession with Jessica and puts great stock into Jessica’s words when she is told that Thomas is devoted and loyal. Dr. Shields’s biggest weakness is her husband, and hearing that he wants her back puts her in the perfect position to be vulnerable to manipulation.

“You were brought in to serve as a morality test for my husband, Jessica. But perhaps it is you who failed it.”

The nature of morality is a key theme in the novel, and Dr. Shields’s morality experiment is at the heart of it. Throughout the weeks that they manipulate one another, Jessica commits various morally questionable acts, such as breaking into Dr. Shields’s house and lying to April’s mother. Dr. Shields notes the irony in the fact that Jessica’s morality ended up falling into question more than her own husband’s. However, a psychologist using an experiment subject for her personal gain is well outside the ethical bounds of Dr. Shields’s profession.

“I see a platter on the granite counter holds a cluster of violet grapes and a wedge of creamy cheese, as if she has been expecting company. Beside it is a single crystal goblet filled with pale gold liquid. It’s all so proper and precise and insane.”

The subtle descriptions of objects, body language, and other seemingly inconsequential details aid in the realism and characterization within the novel and provide clues for the reader about what to anticipate next. Here, Jessica notices the way that Dr. Shields organized an immaculate display of food and alcohol for her visit—a telling indicator that Dr. Shields is planning something.

“She lets silence hang there for a moment, like she’s punctuating her point.”

Jessica describes the way that Dr. Shields takes hold of conversation as though she is performing some deeply important act just by speaking. She pauses intentionally to give emphasis to what she says. The authors use a simile to compare Dr. Shields’s manner of speaking to the written form.

“A mourning dove flutters past me, fracturing my thoughts.”

While Jessica sits in the garden thinking about April, a flock of mourning doves appears, symbolizing April’s death and reminding Jessica of her funeral program. The moment is significant because it is a breakthrough moment as Jessica tries to piece together the puzzle of April’s death to save herself.

“Do you notice the symbolism? The colors we chose are yin and yang.”

Dr. Shields’s narrations occasionally point out symbolism and metaphor that would usually go unspoken or be implied in a story. Here, she mentions the symbolism of her and Jessica’s clothes, as she wears white and Jessica wears black, signifying their opposing yet similar natures. That Dr. Shields wears white, a symbol of purity, echoes her self-characterization as a moral person, despite actions that suggest otherwise.

“The fire crackles in the hearth. You and Thomas both flinch at the sharp, sudden sound.”

Dr. Shields observes the second-by-second actions of Thomas and Jessica as they sit in her library during the novel’s climax. The moment is filled with tension, which is demonstrated by how nervous both of them are. This quote also contains alliteration as Dr. Shields describes the sound of the fire cracking.