49 pages • 1 hour read
Megan MirandaDaughter of Mine
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Lakes and Mirrors
Reflective surfaces abound in Daughter of Mine. Mirrors generally symbolize validation in the sense of seeing one’s own reflection. In the novel, they speak to The Importance of Uncovering Concealed Truth. The lake that features so prominently in the novel is named Mirror Lake. However, though the central feature of their town is a mirror, the people of the community refuse to reflect on what is really happening. When lengthy drought afflicting the entire country lowers the water level, objects that lie beneath the surface are exposed. Typically, visitors to the lake are far less interested in examining the lake’s bottom than in skimming its waves on jet skis or speed boats. This attitude is analogous to the residents’ snap judgments about people in the community. Someone’s looks and actions are judged to be proof of their moral character, and qualities below the surface go unaccounted for. The diner, Reflection Point, literally becomes a turning point and a place to reflect on the evidence coming to light.
The mirrors in Perry’s office function similarly to the lake. Initially, Hazel assumes that her father set up the mirrors as a means to surveil the backyard while seated at his desk. Since he is a detective, he is always observing the behavior of others to determine if they’ve committed a crime. However, the mirrors also conceal plastered niches containing all of Perry’s life savings. This fact can only be revealed to someone willing to look behind the shiny surface of things. Hazel removes the mirrors and smashes the plaster, proving that she doesn’t judge by appearances.
Law Enforcement
Mirror Lake possesses an inordinate number of law enforcement professionals for a town of its size. Police officers and detectives usually symbolize The Importance of Uncovering Concealed Truth, but the novel represents them as concealers of truth. When Hazel returns to her hometown, the reader is introduced to a vast array of people connected to law and order. Perry was a detective. Both Gage and Caden followed in his footsteps. Perry’s former partners are the dead Nicholas Pritchard and the retired Pete Henderson. Serena Flores went to high school with Hazel but is now an officer. She is the daughter of Detective Al Flores and used to date Gage. While Jamie isn’t in law enforcement, she is married to a cop. Even Roy, though not a policeman, is a lawyer involved in the criminal justice system. The town’s most popular restaurant, Reflection Point, is a cop hangout.
As Hazel pursues her quest for truth, she is discouraged at every point by the members of law enforcement in town. Al Flores suggests that she go back to Charlotte. Both her brothers echo that sentiment on numerous occasions. While Serena is sympathetic, even she discourages Hazel from pursuing any more leads once the latter gets too close to threatening the tightly knit police family of Mirror Lake. Of course, the greatest criminal in town is a lawyer whose reputation is impeccable but whose true nature is corrupt.
Empty Houses
Empty houses are a recurring motif in the novel. They convey an air of desolation and vulnerability that relates to the theme of the Impacts of Childhood Abandonment. As soon as Hazel learns that she has inherited Perry’s house, she decides to spend a night alone there. She contrasts this experience with her earlier years when the house was full of noisy life. The silence depresses her and creates a feeling of anxiety, much as her mother’s abandonment once did. The Holt residence is far from the only example of vacant or abandoned properties in Mirror Lake. When the initial outbreak of petty burglaries begins, these thefts only take place in empty houses. After Hazel catches one of the high school pranksters, he insists he only stole her father’s pen because he thought the house was uninhabited.
Hazel frequently finds herself entering unoccupied spaces and always reacts with a sense of foreboding that echoes her loss of her mother. When she goes to Caden’s house to return Skyler’s backpack, the house is empty. As she will soon discover, Jamie has just run away in a parallel to Libby’s unexpected flight. While Sonny’s empty house and Perry’s sinister crawlspace are convenient plot devices to create an atmosphere of suspense, Hazel reacts with genuine dread when entering these spaces as she relives her greatest childhood trauma. The novel ends by purging these associations when Hazel describes the Holt house after the mystery is solved. “The house full of noise, and life, and our family. A reason, always, to come home” (354).
