67 pages • 2 hours read
H. D. CarltonHaunting Adeline
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021A 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
Zade’s Scars and Eyes
Content Warning: This section contains descriptions of violence, sexual assault and stalking.
Though Zade’s height and strength are his most noticeable characteristics, his scars, as well as his differently colored eyes, serve as symbols of his resilience and violence. When Adeline first notices Zade in the bookstore, she notes his differently colored eyes, one “bottomless” and the other reminiscent of “a husky’s eyes” (13), as well as the scar on his face. The different colors of Zade’s eyes play on a classic comparison between dark and light, or evil and good, in which Zade’s dark eye implies an unlimited descent into immorality while his light eye is like a husky’s eye because dogs are considered pure and loyal. However, the scar crossing Zade’s light eye is a reminder of his profession and his violent nature, linking the “good” part of Zade to his “bad” part.
When Zade explains his scars, he recounts that they are the result of a fight he encountered the first time he infiltrated a trafficking ring, claiming that the scars represent both his failure in the physical fight and his success in taking down the ring overall. However, the scars are more so a representation, in Zade’s characterization, of his blurred moral lines. Infiltrating the ring was a moral objective, in which Zade wanted to do a good deed. However, Zade is also arrogant and violent, which likely led him into a fight he was not entirely prepared to win, leading to the scars. As Zade does immoral things to accomplish moral goals, his scars become a symbol for the conflicting moral concepts that he balances in his daily life.
His eyes are also seen as a physical asset, enhancing his attractiveness, which, likewise, reflects on his interactions with Adeline. Though Zade sexually assaults Adeline on more than one occasion, he also acts as her protector throughout the novel. It seems that his eyes and scars, then, serve as a tool through which Carlton is able to show how Zade’s actions balance his morality. In his trafficking work, the immorality of his torturing and murders is balanced out by the beneficial outcomes of his actions, just as his scars have turned one of his eyes light. The darkness of his other eye reminds that there are some actions, such as sexual assault, that have no justification and will always remain immoral.
Parsons Manor
A large portion of the novel takes place in Adeline’s home, Parsons Manor. The house itself is described as Victorian, gothic, and steeped in history, and it is a symbol of the interactions between the past and the present in the novel. Just as Gigi’s past with John, Frank, and Ronaldo is a subject of Adeline’s investigation, the history of the house seems to foreshadow the events of the novel as they occur. Various links between Adeline, Serafina, and Gigi indicate that the house itself is of supernatural importance, but the supernatural side of the novel is not fully explored. For example, though there is mention of the ghosts of the construction workers who died in a fire during the initial building of the Manor, those ghosts are never seen. Adeline sees what she believes to be Gigi’s ghost for a moment, but only once, and Zade feels a presence in Adeline’s closet, but that is also a singular event. What is left when the supernatural elements of the Manor are discarded is the symbolism of the influence of the past on the present in the novel.
The pattern of Parsons Manor distancing mothers and daughters continues with Adeline, as her choice to stay in Parsons Manor then distances her further from her own mother. However, the resolution of the murder mystery seems to undo this trend, as Sarina, Adeline’s mother, is ultimately responsible for Adeline uncovering the true murderer, Frank. The same act, Gigi’s murder, which separated three generations of women in the family, and which threatened to distance a fourth, is also the act that ultimately brings Sarina and Adeline back together, which equates with the Gothic novel trope of breaking the family curse.
Parsons Manor also links the past and present stalkers, Ronaldo and Zade. Adeline looks to Ronaldo for evidence that Zade is evil, only to find that Ronaldo was likely the only man that stood by and supported Gigi, just as Zade is ultimately framed as Adeline’s protector. The house provides a physical context for these events, tying the past and present together through locality. As such, the house symbolizes the connection between the events and characters in the present and their counterparts in the past.
Little Mouse
“Little Mouse” is Zade’s nickname for Adeline, and it occurs over 100 times in the course of the novel. Zade uses the name both when he is internally referring to Adeline and when he is addressing her in person. The nickname derives from the series name of Carlton’s books, The Cat and Mouse Duet, which itself refers to Zade and Adeline’s exchange of narration and complex push-and-pull relationship. In this dynamic, Adeline is a mouse, or a small, weak, scared animal that serves as prey, while Zade is a cat, a cunning, strong, and fast animal that serves as a predator. Zade’s use of the nickname “little mouse” underscores Zade’s powerful position regarding Adeline. The motif of “little mouse” also explains the dynamics of power and control between Zade and Adeline, as Adeline is intermittently a willing object for Zade to pursue and a legitimate victim, constituting her role as “prey” in the cat and mouse analogy.
The root of this dynamic is in the way that cats and mice stereotypically interact, in which cats “play” with mice, hunting and hurting them until they eventually kill and eat them. The language of eating is prevalent in Zade and Adeline’s sex life, as they regularly refer to Zade “consuming,” “devouring,” or “drinking” Adeline when referring to sex acts Zade performs. The missing element in the analogy is that Zade does not intend to kill Adeline though the legitimate threat of pain and possible death seems present in many of their interactions. These physical aspects of Zade and Adeline’s interactions are connected, as well, to the conceptual idea that Zade is “consuming” Adeline’s thoughts and feelings, mirroring the process through which Stockholm Syndrome develops. As the novel progresses, Adeline becomes more attached to and obsessed with Zade, revealing another meaning to Zade “hunting” her, as his goal is not to kill her physical body, but to kill her resistance against him.
For a brief period in the novel, Adeline refers to Zade as “kitty cat,” a diminutive means of acknowledging the dynamic of cat and mouse that Zade forces on Adeline. However, the name does not stick, and Adeline generally refers to Zade as her “shadow” until she finds out his real name. As such, Adeline is unable to semantically reverse the predator/prey relationship, and each instance of “little mouse” is meant to reaffirm Zade’s complete control over Adeline.
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By H. D. Carlton
