48 pages • 1 hour read
Seraphina Nova GlassOn a Quiet Street
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Forms of Control in Abusive Relationships
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of addiction, violence, and domestic abuse. The text also contains offensive language about mental health conditions, which the guide replicates in quotation only.
On a Quiet Street explores different dimensions of forms of control in abusive relationships. Lucas, Finn, and Caleb use violence, threats, and criticism to control and manipulate the women in their lives. The novel conveys that patriarchal structures and cultures of silence allow forms of control to escalate and that there is no typical profile of someone who is abused.
The primary abusive relationship in On a Quiet Street is that between Lucas and Nicola. Lucas fully controls every aspect of Nicola’s life. He uses surveillance devices to monitor her activities, locks her in the basement some evenings, and limits her contact with the outside world. This regime of control is enforced with violence and threats of violence. The text makes it clear that the abuse gradually increased until Nicola was entirely trapped. They were already married the first time he was violent with her “and he pushed his thumb into my throat so hard I saw stars and blacked out” (91). Glass uses graphic language to highlight the terror of the violence. This gradual increase of control and violence is emblematic of how people get trapped in abusive relationships: Over time, the abuser isolates them from their support system, wears down their self-esteem, and takes over their resources. Lucas’s important position in the community as a judge makes it even more difficult for Nicola to escape, as she cannot turn to the authorities for help.
While not nearly as aggressive or violent as Nicola and Lucas’s relationship, the relationship between Finn and Cora also contains elements of coercive control. Finn lies to her about his extramarital affairs and covers them up by calling Cora “paranoid,” “crazy,” and “unstable.” As a result of this and subtle critiques of her appearance, such as when he mentions he thought she was doing Weight Watchers when she makes pancakes for the family, her self-esteem is extremely low. Over the course of the narrative, she gradually learns to re-assert her independence from him.
Nicola and Caleb’s relationship, while only mentioned briefly in the narrative, was also somewhat abusive. Caleb asserted his control over Nicola by forcing her to steal from her husband to fund his drug addiction using blackmail. Nicola was a vulnerable, isolated woman, and Caleb participated in isolating her further through using the money for a new passport to buy drugs. This abusive dynamic came to a head when Nicola killed Caleb with her car after he attempted to shoot her.
The varying depictions of physical, psychological, and coercive control throughout On a Quiet Street show how abusive relationships are initiated and escalate. Ultimately, the abusers all receive poetic justice, ending up either dead (Lucas, Caleb) or divorced (Finn).
Female Friendships as a Source of Strength
The female protagonists in On a Quiet Street rely on their friendships to overcome the conflicts and difficulties in their lives. Their relationships show the power and support that female friendships can provide, particularly as a balm to patriarchal power structures.
The primary friendship in the narrative is that between Cora and Paige. Cora and Paige are best friends and neighbors. Cora reflects that “I feel like I have known Paige my whole life” (193), even though they have only been friends for 10 years. Cora and Paige are seemingly very different. Cora is a stay-at-home mom who is friendly, outgoing, and goes out of her way to help others in her community. Before the death of her son, Paige had a demanding career managing a chain of restaurants with her husband. She is aggressive, gruff, and closed off. However, their differences are the source of strength in their relationship. Cora makes an effort to visit Paige during Paige’s grief and ensuing isolation. Despite her rude demeanor, Paige relies on Cora’s support to continue her investigation into the murder of her son. Cora, likewise, counts on Paige’s skills in surveillance and breaking and entering to investigate Finn and Lucas. They trust each other with secrets that they can never share with their husbands. This helps pull Paige out of her grief into action while also giving Cora the support she needs to get a divorce from her husband.
Cora’s friendship with Nicola is an important source of strength for Nicola and the key to her escape from her abusive relationship. Initially, Nicola is confused as to why Cora is making such an effort to befriend her. However, Cora feels that it is the right thing to do. She thinks that Lucas is “creepy” and has a sense that Nicola is isolated. When Nicola makes her escape attempt, she knows that she can count on Cora for support. She thinks, “I’ll need help. I’ll need Cora” (154). Cora proves to be an invaluable resource for Nicola in her escape. She secrets Nicola in the trunk of her car and provides her with a safe place to stay.
Although Nicola has a more tense relationship with Paige, one that does not quite rise to the level of friendship, it is likewise an important resource for her. Paige allows Nicola to stay in her home and Paige bravely risks her life to get evidence of Lucas’s abuse. The three women work together to empower each other and take control of their lives.
Accusations of Mental Illness to Dismiss Women's Claims
On a Quiet Street explores how mental illness is weaponized against women in a patriarchal, misogynistic system. Cora and Nicola's husbands dismiss their claims and complaints with the excuse that they are mentally ill in some way and therefore can’t be believed about their own experiences. This is oppressive in a twofold manner: It both dismisses the agency of people with mental health conditions and is a modern form of the centuries-old description of women as “hysterical” and therefore untrustworthy. For millennia, claims that women are “hysterical” have been used to dismiss their claims of abuse or other assertions (Epstein, Deborah, and Lisa Goodman. “Discounting Women: Doubting Domestic Violence Survivors’ Credibility and Dismissing Their Experiences.” University of Pennsylvania Law Review, vol. 167, no. 399, 2019, pp. 405-406). Glass hence suggests that this specific form of dismissal is fortified by historical practices and all the more dangerous, supporting the notion that women must be believed.
Cora has a tense relationship with Finn due to her suspicions about his infidelity. When she confronts him about her suspicions, he discounts her beliefs and implies she is “paranoid.” As just one example, she recounts an episode that took place two years prior to the chronology of the novel wherein she confronted him at a restaurant where he was having a “cozy” dinner with another woman. Following this encounter, he insists what she saw with her own eyes is not to be believed and instead claims that the woman was a client. He calls Cora a “paranoid psychopath” (44), and Cora goes to therapy. However, the narrative implies that Finn was having an affair with this unnamed woman. By pathologizing her beliefs, he causes Cora to question her own sense of reality.
Lucas’s method of casting Nicola as mentally ill and untrustworthy is even more extensive and devious. He spreads the rumor that she is agoraphobic, and he uses this lie to justify to others the fact that she rarely leaves the house. It also serves another purpose. When Nicola calls the police following an assault, Lucas uses this as an excuse to discredit her allegations. As she recounts to Cora, “I called [the police] once, and he had a good laugh with them about how unstable I was. He has set me up as an unhinged, depressed person” (198). As a result of a patriarchal system that prevents women from being believed, Nicola faces incredible obstacles in getting away from her abusive husband.
Cora and Nicola’s experiences can be contrasted with those of Paige. Paige is actively experiencing a mental health crisis, but instead of discrediting her or blaming her for the situation, Grant patiently supports her. Grant never stigmatizes Paige’s obsessive behavior in her investigation into Caleb’s death as “crazy” or “paranoid.” While he does not approve of her actions, and he worries about her state, he does not disbelieve or discredit her. Grant provides an important foil to Lucas and Finn that highlights the oppressive nature of their dismissal of their wives.
