Pretty Little Liars

While Alison DiLaurentis is a main character in the book, she also serves as a powerful symbol of the past, and of the deepest insecurities harbored by Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna. Even after she disappears, Alison binds the girls together even after they have all drifted apart. They continue to think about her, mourning her disappearance but also feeling relief that their secrets are safe. A few years later, when they all start receiving messages from A, their memories resurface, and they are forced to face the past once again.

Before she goes missing, Alison is considered “Beautiful, witty, smart” and “Popular” (3). She sees something in Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna that fosters their friendships with one another and brings them all together. The girls felt awkward until Alison “made them feel like the most perfect-fitting Stella McCartneys that no one could afford” (4). She alone is the reason they’re all friends and continues to serve as their primary bond after she disappears. The girls are strategically targeted by A, who torments them with secrets only Alison knew. After her body is found, Alison indirectly brings the girls back together at her memorial service.

Alison serves as a reflection of the girls’ deepest fears about themselves. Alison charms them, casting what feels like a “spell” (11) over them. They often feel like her “dolls, with Ali arranging their every move” (12). Although she gives them a sense of belonging, she also has total control over them. She discovers their secrets and uses them to her advantage. Even before she disappears, she is a symbol of their insecurities and weaknesses. She reflects a side of them that is easily dominated and often unable to say no. After she’s gone and their secrets resurface through A, they are forced to confront those insecurities in a way they haven’t before. While their anxieties were once reflected at them through Ali, they are now exposed through notes, messages, and texts from A.

As a symbol of their past, Alison still haunts Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna. They constantly think about her and what she knew about them. When Emily goes to Alison’s old room to hang out with Maya, she feels “as if Alison’s presence was still floating there” (24). She gets “woozy” (24) and must balance herself against the wall. When they start receiving messages from A, they wonder if Alison is back to further torment them. Supporting this theory, Spencer thinks she sees Alison from her bedroom window. She sees a “flash of blondish hair” (84) in Maya’s window, which sends “An icy shiver” down Spencer’s spine (84). Spencer feels like “Ali haunted her 24/7” (57) and “hated being reminded of that period of her life” (57). Aria dreams that Alison comes to her house, but then a “black, gelatinous substance” (229) starts dripping out of her nose and eyes. She tells Aria she’s “just rotting” (229). Alison is someone they can’t escape, and never will until they’ve come to terms with themselves and the past.