62 pages • 2 hours read
Jason RekulakHidden Pictures
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020A 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
Drawings
Teddy’s drawings add an additional piece of metanarrative to the book-within-a-book format of the novel. They symbolize Margit’s need to communicate with her daughter. They also highlight the fragmented nature of non-linear storytelling, which can be particularly satisfying when the puzzle of the story is revealed. The drawings also give a visual depiction of increasing skill, which adds to the intensity of Margit’s influence in the house. She grows better with each drawing because she gets better at controlling the host whose hand she uses.
The evolution of the drawings is narratively effective. They begin as the commonplace doodles of a child but slowly transform into something sinister, hinting at the depths of a mystery that is darker than anything Mallory could have imagined. Caroline takes a different view of the drawings: “These drawings are so unfair! This is her version of what happened. But if you’d seen my side of things? The big picture? You’d understand better” (329). She views them as an indictment of her crimes, and she is correct. Caroline tries to classify the drawings as an academic phenomenon of psychological coping as she tries to blame them on Mallory. She says that the drawings are “a symbolic representation. A visual metaphor. You’ve lost your younger sister. You’re upset, you’re panicking, you’re desperate to bring her back—but it’s too late. She’s fallen into a valley of death” (238). When she describes the drawings of the woman being strangled, she calls the picture “an abstract concept made literal” and suggests that it is an empowering image of Mallory being freed from her addiction (238).
Ultimately, art is often an attempt to express something that is otherwise inexpressible. This rings true with Margit’s attempts to communicate with her child and Mallory. The drawings are the only way she can maintain a connection to the person she loves most.
Guardian Angels
Angels are a symbol of Christian faith, but Hidden Pictures focuses more on the symbolism of guardian angels, or beings that protect those who are in their care. Anya originally presents as a sinister figure whose goal is to torment and frighten. However, she is a bereaved mother who only wants to stay close to her child to protect and nurture.
Russell watches over Mallory’s recovery and constantly reminds her to strengthen her body, use her faith for support, and remain vigilant to all threats against her sobriety. Adrian stays on the floor of the cottage one night to guard Mallory while she sleeps, knowing that he might soon be in the presence of a ghost.
In the case of the Maxwells, the symbolism of angels is ironic and almost comical. Caroline has a pair of angel wings tattooed on her back, although her actions have been unrighteous and evil. Ted casts himself as Mallory’s protector, but he is driven by lust, insecurity, drunkenness, and guilt rather than a selfless desire to serve.
Whidbey Island
Ted’s fixation on Whidbey Island symbolizes regret, immaturity, and a desire to return to simpler times. It also represents the foolish notion that one can escape the past simply by moving to a new location. Ted tells Mallory that if she had been to Whidbey Island, she would understand how special the world can be. As a counterpoint, Caroline tells Mallory that “[w]henever he gets drunk, he talks about Whidbey Island” (217). Whidbey Island is where Ted says he was the happiest, and it’s where he wants to start over with Mallory. It is also one of the last places where Ted was not hounded by the vengeful spirit of Flora’s mother. Ultimately, the island symbolizes the natural, human desire for easy solutions and escape, rather than the hard work of accountability and the acceptance that the past cannot be changed.
The List of Rules
When Mallory begins working for the Maxwells, they show her a list of house rules. The rules symbolize the care that the Maxwells allegedly want for Teddy, but it is a misdirection of their true motives. Some of the rules—such as not discussing religion or anything spiritual—are an attempt to keep Teddy from hearing about supernatural realities about which Ted and Caroline are already aware. One of the rules—“Have fun”—is an ironic, clichéd version of domestic pep in a house that is anything but. The rules represent the Maxwells’ naïve attempt to impose order on a situation that is unnatural and unmanageable. They can’t elude the consequences of their crimes with a tidy solution because the ghost will not obey their rules. The list of rules is also the closes thing the Maxwells have to a system of guiding values, which proves lacking in terms of their results.
