50 pages • 1 hour read
Bella MackieHow to Kill Your Family
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
Grace’s Wooden Spoon
In prison, Grace makes a wooden spoon into which she carves the initials of the six people she has murdered, confident that “nobody would look that closely” to be able to understand what the carvings mean (87). She then gives the spoon to Kelly when her cellmate admires it. This spoon serves as a motif that points to The Illusion of Control and the link between Pride and Miscalculation. Grace is certain no one will even attempt to decipher the “hieroglyphics” she carves into the spoon, though she admits doing so was “Not a particularly sophisticated move” (87). She’s right that it’s unlikely anyone would realize the meaning of the tiny carvings, but this does not mean it’s impossible, especially because Grace believes she is in control of her relationship with Kelly: She reads Kelly’s journal but never guesses that Kelly reads hers, and so she assumes it’s a coincidence when Kelly mentions Sassy Girl, never suspecting that Kelly knows of Grace’s link to the company. Grace’s pride and arrogance lead her to underestimate Kelly and lose control of their relationship; the wooden spoon highlights the smug superiority that leads Grace to misjudge her cellmate, leaving herself vulnerable to further loss of control.
In the novel’s postscript, Kelly writes to Grace with thinly veiled threats that look like friendly banter and inside jokes. Though it’s followed by “LOL,” Kelly warns Grace not to “even think about ignoring” her communication because she “know[s] where [Grace] live[s]” (355). In promising to safeguard the spoon, Kelly lets Grace know that she has leverage to blackmail her. Kelly’s insistence that they have “things […] to discuss” is further indication that she intends to extort money from Grace (355). Possessing this spoon gives Kelly the control Grace believed she had, control that Grace loses precisely because she thought she was too smart to be hoodwinked by anyone, let alone someone like Kelly. Thus, her control is revealed as illusory, the result of her Pride and Miscalculation.
Names
Many names carry symbolic meaning that helps to illuminate the characters’ attitudes and roles in the text. The last name of the powerful central family, Artemis, is the name of the ancient Greek goddess associated with youth and the protection of maidens, especially. It is ironic, then, that Simon, a man who preys on youthful and naïve women, should bear such a name. Further, the name is an equally poor fit for his parents, who chalk up Marie’s pregnancy to a silly “mistake” many “young men” make, refusing to assist the young woman in any way. The Artemises do nothing to protect the young women their son exploits or even try to teach him to be more respectful of women. Thus, ironically, the character most like the goddess is Grace, a character who doesn’t share his surname.
Likewise, Grace and Marie’s surname, “Bernard,” means strong as a bear or brave as a bear, and while Grace finds her mother weak, the name sheds light on Grace’s determination to be strong. There are many ways, however, in which Marie is also strong, despite her daughter’s judgment. Marie raises Grace alone after they have been abandoned by Simon and Marie’s own family, and Grace herself says that she always felt loved, and that her mother bore the worst of their hardship herself. Marie did the best she could for her daughter, encouraging Grace to feel grateful for what she has and even keeping the truth of Simon’s terrible behavior secret. This requires strength, regardless of what Grace believes. The name also points to the strength women need to face the disempowering attitudes so common in patriarchal societies.
Finally, Bryony is a name that means climbing plant, and this symbolizes her character’s inability to do anything on her own. Instead, she uses her family privilege and affluence to acquire clout as an influencer. She has no real skills or ability, and it is only the foundation of her family that permits her to “climb,” so to speak, becoming a popular social media presence.
Murder Trophies
Grace takes trophies or souvenirs from the murders of Kathleen and Jeremy Artemis and their grandson, Andrew. After the car crash, Grace takes Jeremy’s official Regency Club tie, evidence of his membership in an old and exclusive men’s club in Mayfair. She knows that Jeremy was raised by a single, working-class mother and that he purchased his “pedigree” when he became rich and powerful; now the tie represents his hope that others will accept his membership in the upper class despite the newness of his fortune. The tie is a motif that illuminates The Illusion of Control, pointing to Jeremy’s attempts to control society’s view of himself and his family by adopting the attitudes and behaviors of the upper class. However, he can never completely escape his real past, as Helene discovers when anger reveals his original, working-class accent. His control is illusory, temporary at best.
Grace also takes something from Andrew’s neck when she kills him—his beaded necklace—an accessory that distances him from his origins, like Jeremy’s tie. While Jeremy wants to separate himself from his working-class past, Andrew hopes to erase his connection to the affluent and vicious Artemis family. He grows his hair long, wears a beaded necklace and shell earring, and even volunteers for the marsh project, evidently hoping to hide his origins from others and perhaps even to forget them himself. Andrew wants to be in control of his own life, not allowing his family to call the shots, and his necklace emphasizes his desire for control. That both of these items are worn around the neck carries additional symbolism, suggesting the collar and leash someone might place on a dog to control the animal. Exposing the neck renders one vulnerable, so by taking these items from the men’s necks, Grace highlights her success in making them vulnerable. However, she stops taking souvenirs after Andrew’s murder, which is the last time she truly feels in control. When she murders Lee, she does so by strangling him with a rope around his neck, but she reaps little satisfaction from it. Then, Grace cannot take trophies from Janine’s and Bryony’s murders because she is not truly in control of those; they happen at some distance from her rather than in her physical presence. Ultimately, Jeremy’s tie and Andrew’s necklace represent their own desire for control as well as Grace’s, and each finds that they are not in control at all.
