Darling Girls

“His comment delighted Alicia to no end. In her experience, when kids felt comfortable enough to diss you, it meant you were doing something right.”

Through this statement, Alicia demonstrates her knowledge of and empathy for traumatized children, who often can only relate to someone by teasing them. Alicia’s compassionate awareness acts as a direct contrast with Miss Fairchild’s malicious cruelty and petty jealousy, for Miss Fairchild’s narcissistic tendencies prevent her from tolerating any form of teasing; she takes herself far too seriously to allow such liberties.

“Apparently panic felt quite a lot like excitement, and if you told yourself you were excited you could trick your feelings.”

Jessica is quite familiar with the feeling of panic, but she does not know how to handle excitement, due to her depression and the harmful effects of her childhood at Wild Meadows. Unfortunately, the similarities of these emotions do not make her panic any easier to handle, and these early instances of her emotional volatility foreshadow her eventual emotional meltdown and subsequent overdose.

“They told Jessica her mother had been very sad, and then she died. Jessica didn’t know you could die from being sad. She remembered being very careful not to cry about her mother in case she died too.”

Jessica is the first of the foster sisters to be placed with Miss Fairchild, and throughout the novel, she has the most difficulty with disconnecting herself from her abusive foster mother. In this passage, the novel shows the impressionable nature of young children, who often use their own internal logic to protect themselves, for better or for worse.

“In the past, she’d thought being lucky was an unequivocally good thing. But there was another side to it, she realized. If you were lucky, it implied that your good fortune hadn’t been earned. You couldn’t question it, or take it for granted. You had to be grateful. Because what had been given to you could just as easily be taken away.”

Though Jessica first has this thought when she is a mere four years old, she demonstrates throughout the novel that this perspective never leaves her. However, at the end of the novel, Jessica finally gains the ability to appreciate what she actually has in the moment, such as her relationship with Phil and her future child.

“Miss Fairchild beamed. ‘I’m going to make you forget all about your mummy,’ she said. ‘Wait and see. Before long, you’ll forget she ever existed.’”

While Miss Fairchild’s behavior is ostensibly solicitous and caring, the urge to make a young, wounded child “forget” her lost parent also indicates an element of selfishness and latent malice. In Jessica’s early months with Miss Fairchild, she is lavished with a facsimile of love and kindness, and this early bond ultimately renders Miss Fairchild’s descent into cruelty and abuse all the more damaging for Jessica, for even in the midst of the misery she endures, she still hopes to receive the woman’s love and approval.

“Miss Fairchild was the center of her life, her everything. And if she kept it this way, she’d be rewarded with love, which was all Jessica wanted.”

Just as with her perspective on luck, the young Jessica’s belief that Miss Fairchild is a vital part of her life remains persistent through adulthood, long after she has learned to hate the woman for the damage that she has caused. This cognitive dissonance causes the young Jessica to have divided loyalties, and as an adult, she will eventually admits that she revealed her sisters’ plans and secrets to Miss Fairchild throughout her childhood.

“‘That was a mistake,’ Jessica said.

Norah rolled over in bed. ‘What was?’

‘Telling her what you were afraid of,’ Jessica said. ‘One day, that will come back to bite you.’”

Despite her young age, Jessica demonstrates a deep understanding of Miss Fairchild’s manipulation and abuse in this scene, and her cynical, resigned tone hints at the trauma that she has already endured. The moment also implies that the sisters are far more intelligent and perceptive than Miss Fairchild assumes. However, as these wary feelings become ingrained, they persist and have long-term impacts on the girls’ adult lives as well.

“Even after all these years, yearning for the love and attention of someone who couldn’t give it to her was much more comfortable than actually receiving it.”

In the present-day narrative, Jessica is portrayed as the most responsible sister of the three, even though she is also the most psychologically damaged. Jessica’s development throughout the narrative eventually allows her to openly acknowledge these issues, but she must undergo an acute crisis before she finds a path toward resolving her past traumas.

“Jessica never thought to ask herself if she liked him too. It didn’t seem relevant. Being loved had been the goal of her life. Loving someone in return…that was just showing off.”

The relationship between Jessica and Miss Fairchild—with Jessica constantly seeking approval without worrying about her own feelings—is recreated later in her life with her marriage to her husband Phil. This recurring pattern showcases The Long-Term Impact of Trauma, as her relationship with Miss Fairchild is the only model that Jessica can use to construct her adult life.

“But after she hung up, she wondered if Trish was right to have so much faith in her. Of course she would try to find Theo a wonderful home. But how would she really know? How sure could they ever really be that a foster home was good? It was a question that plagued her, day in and day out. After all, from the outside, Wild Meadows had seemed very good.”

The uncertainty that Alicia felt in her childhood is acknowledged here in her anxiety about subjecting the children in her care to the same type of treatment that she once endured from Miss Fairchild. However, Alicia is also conscientious and responsible, whereas Sandi and Scott were disorganized and even actively malicious. This fundamental difference shows the illogical nature of Alicia’s anxiety.

“She could see that, after the stories Norah had just shared, it did make sense to stick together, forge their own family. But that meant staying at Wild Meadows with Miss Fairchild. It felt like an impossibly cruel choice.”

A distinct irony in the novel concerns The Contrast Between Chosen Families and Assigned Families. In this particular narrative, the irony lies in accepting the dysfunctional assigned family in order to create the chosen family, as the girls would never have met each other if they had been placed with different foster parents.

“Suddenly Jessica realized how stupid she’d been. She couldn’t rebel. She couldn’t go horse riding. It wasn’t just about her anymore. Alicia and Norah didn’t just represent fun, or support, or someone to take risks with. They represented two more ways for Miss Fairchild to hurt her. She should have pushed back against Alicia’s idea and kept her sisters safe inside the house.”

Throughout the novel, Jessica is beset by conflicting factors from Miss Fairchild, for although she wants to please her foster mother, she also despises the woman for mistreating her foster siblings. While these impulses may appear to be contradictory, they actually stem from the same desire: to protect herself in any way possible.

“‘No,’ Jessica said. ‘I only ever wanted to love her.’ Jessica was embarrassed to realize that she still wanted that. She thought of all the times she’d fantasized about Miss Fairchild hearing about her successful business and showing up on Jessica’s doorstep to tell her how proud she was. In the fantasy, Jessica had many different responses—sometimes turning her away, other times hugging her foster mother and inviting her into her beautiful home. They’d share a pot of tea and it would be like old times. The very oldest, before it all went wrong.”

Jessica’s deep desire to please Miss Fairchild comes from the oldest memories of her childhood, in which Miss Fairchild initially treated her with love and kindness. This dynamic also demonstrates the fact that abused children internalize their abuse, for Jessica blames herself for the change in Miss Fairchild.

“She turned her phone around and opened the camera. She’d send him a photo, if that’s what he wanted. A nice close-up. She zoomed in to her hand as she flipped him the bird, making her digit nice and straight. That’s what you can do with your threats, Kevin the Weasel. Yes, he might go to the cops, but no one trapped Norah Anderson.”

In contrast to Jessica, who tends to internalize her psychological issues, Norah blames the world around her and reacts with aggression. However, this aggression is also shown to be the source of her vulnerability, leaving her open to exploitation from malicious people like Kevin, who desire to manipulate her for their own ends.

“Every now and then, Miss Fairchild stuck her head in the room to glare at them, as if the baby’s presence was their fault instead of hers. After a while, Jessica became too tired even to feel hurt by it.”

This moment demonstrates a significant aspect of Miss Fairchild’s problematic behavior patterns: projecting blame onto others. Within Miss Fairchild’s warped worldview, nothing is ever her fault, and this mindset allows her to justify forcing the older children in her household to take care of the younger ones in her stead.

“They’d witnessed Miss Fairchild’s wrath when they’d said or done the wrong thing unwittingly—but this time they’d deliberately gone against her. Worse, they’d joined forces to do it. She’d probably been awake all night dreaming up new ways to make them suffer.”

If Miss Fairchild believes that unintentional disobedience deserves punishment, then Jessica cannot imagine the consequences of intentionally defying her orders. One of the most pernicious aspects of Miss Fairchild’s abuse is the uncertainty it causes; the sisters never really feel safe in their own home because they cannot predict what Miss Fairchild will do from one moment to another.

“She said it with such delight it was hard to believe she was the same woman who’d been terrorizing them for months. Who just last night had screamed obscenities at them while trying to force her way into their bedroom.

Alicia appeared as disturbed as Norah felt. ‘But…where are her parents?’

‘Her birth parents didn’t want her.’ Miss Fairchild made an expression of disgust. It was more familiar than the grotesque smile, at least. ‘Some people only want perfect children.’”

The moment when Miss Fairchild introduces the sisters to the toddler she has kidnapped takes on deeper layers of irony and meaning, for although the true context of this scene will remain hidden until the novel’s conclusion, the reality is that Miss Fairchild murdered her sister Amy. Thus, this scene, in which Miss Fairchild labels a kidnapped child with the name of the infant she once murdered, becomes evidence of a profoundly disordered mind.

“Something about her cruelty fortified Alicia. The certainty and security of what she was getting became like a drug. A much more powerful drug than the agony caused by a desire for love and warmth.

But it was different with Amy. Perhaps it was the darling little face that transformed with her moods, from puzzled to delighted to angry as if at the flick of a switch.”

The sisters’ unconditional love for Amy is the same attitude that Miss Fairchild has unsuccessfully tried to force them to adopt toward herself. Her skewed mindset makes her incapable of realizing that such intense love and devotion must be reciprocal. Lost in her self-centered approach to life, Miss Fairchild employs cruel methods that prevent the formation of the very relationships that she craves.

“They did their best to report each incident in detail, and Max paid close attention, taking notes and asking questions, but an hour went by and Alicia could see that they hadn’t given him nearly enough. Miss Fairchild had been clever. None of her abuse had been clear-cut. In every case, there was a way for her to spin it as discipline or an accident or lies.”

Although Miss Fairchild’s behavior often seems irrational, these details reinforce the idea that all of her actions are planned and therefore deliberately malicious. Miss Fairchild has intentionally kept her abuse from crossing the line of criminality, and this approach shows that she is capable of understanding the impact that her actions have on others.

“The truth was, Jessica had never tried to get pregnant. Whenever Phil halfheartedly brought it up she told him they would definitely try ‘in a few years,’ and he always accepted it. It wasn’t that she didn’t want kids. If one had shown up in her life like a lost dog, she would have scooped it up and loved it and protected it forever. But making the decision to have one, to create one, was too big a leap.”

Although both Alicia and Jessica have an explicit desire to raise children, they do not believe that they would be suitable parents, due to their upbringing. In this way, the sisters are trying to prevent The Long-Term Impact of Trauma, but in reality, their reluctance to follow their own desires in their adult lives is yet another facet of the trauma they endured as children.

“Dirk started walking toward the station. ‘If she made you lie,’ Jessica called after him, ‘it’s not too late to say so.’

Dirk kept his head down and his stride swift. Alicia started to wonder if Jessica might be on to something.”

Jessica’s instincts about Dirk’s potential dishonesty are eventually proven to be correct, as Dirk was blackmailed by Miss Fairchild due to his status as a sex offender. Ironically, although Jessica has never claimed to understand Miss Fairchild’s motivations as clearly as Miss Fairchild has professed to know hers, Jessica’s statement to Dirk in this scene indicates that even as an adult, she can still accurately predict what her former foster mother might do. She has also gained the strength of mind to take action, however obliquely.

“‘She groomed you to please her, ever since you were a little girl,’ Alicia continued, more loudly, as if to make up for Norah. ‘You think we would blame you for that?’

‘You may not blame me, but I blame myself.’ Jessica’s eyes filled. ‘I blamed myself even when I thought we’d imagined Amy. But now…’ Her voice cracked and she stopped, took a breath. ‘If hers is the body under the house, it’s my fault.’

‘No,’ Alicia said, shaking her head. ‘No.’”

As Alicia speaks difficult truths in an attempt to comfort her sister, the complex maelstrom of agony in her tone reveals the true extent of The Long-Term Impact of Trauma. Miss Fairchild has just revealed that Jessica used to report the sisters’ actions to her, and she clearly expected this news to drive a wedge between them. However, The Contrast Between Chosen Families and Assigned Families becomes clear as the sisters remain true to each other despite Miss Fairchild’s manipulations.

“‘Why would you?’ Miss Fairchild blustered. ‘Surely after everything I deserve to—’



The door buzzed and Jessica pulled it open. Miss Fairchild was still talking as Jessica walked out. The click of the door shutting securely behind her felt like a new beginning. One she was finally ready for.”

In her final moments with Miss Fairchild, Jessica finally learns not to internalize the woman’s behavior; instead, she recognizes Miss Fairchild’s tirade for the narcissistic rage that it is. This scene demonstrates the culmination of Jessica’s character development, for she has finally disentangled herself from her abusive past and found an independent way forward.