67 pages • 2 hours read
John MarrsKeep It in the Family
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
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BetaSymbols & Motifs
The Message in the Floorboard
The message in the floorboard—“I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC” (46)—is central to the development of the story. When Mia discovers the message, she begins an investigation that triggers devastating consequences for the Hunter family and the village of Stewkbury. Without the message, the truth about the attic would never have been discovered. In addition to serving as the catalyst for the story’s primary conflict, the message is also integral to Debbie’s character development. Written by Debbie as a child, the message symbolizes the origins of Debbie’s obsession with “saving” children, the beginnings of her self-deception, and the moment she transitions from an innocent child to a murderer. As a child, Debbie recognized that her parents’ behavior is abnormal, and when she realizes the harm they do to innocent children, she wants to stop them. When she helps Precious escape from the attic, she takes her first step toward breaking her parents’ cycle of violence and becoming a better person, and she initially writes the message as a reminder of her commitment to helping others.
However, that message—and her pure intentions—later become distorted when she attempts to murder Precious in an act of self-preservation. As Debbie becomes entranced by the blood and violence of her attack on Precious, her perspective shifts, and she decides that she can save people in a different way: by removing them from a world that would otherwise make them suffer. The message on the floorboards therefore shifts to symbolize Debbie’s evolution into a serial killer who rationalizes her crimes as a twisted form of mercy.
The Suitcases
The suitcases hold great significance and varying meanings for Mia, Debbie, and Finn. For Mia, discovering suitcases filled with the decomposing bodies of murdered children represents the horror of the house’s past and present. Whereas she previously viewed the house as an engaging project, the suitcases reconfigure her dream house as a place of nightmares. Mia’s refusal to move into the house or continue renovating it is triggered by the suitcases and serves as the catalyst for the dissolution of her marriage.
For Debbie, however, the suitcases represent her full range of “souvenirs” from her extensive murders over the years, and in her mind, they also serve as an integral symbol of order and routine. As a serial killer, Debbie is driven by her signature patterns, rituals, and fantasies. Because Debbie is compulsively reenacting her parents’ crimes and deluding herself into believing that her motives are purer, she feels compelled to use the same brand of suitcases that her parents once did. She also needs to keep the suitcases close, where she can admire the cumulative results of her activities. Debbie sees herself as a savior, and revisiting her collection of suitcases allows her to revisit the memories of her kills and reassure herself that her actions were justified.
Finally, for Finn, his own nascent collection of body-filled suitcases represents his self-deception and his emulation of Debbie. Although Finn lies to himself by insisting that he and Debbie are nothing alike, his suitcases full of corpses illustrate his own devolution into the patterns of a serial killer as he follows his mother’s footsteps. Like Debbie, Finn also encourages his son to play with the suitcases and the skeletal remains they contain, thereby teaching Sonny that murder is a positive thing. And just as Debbie manipulated and abused Finn by taking her with him on her kills, Finn is repeating this pattern with Sonny and the suitcases. Finn also threatens Sonny by telling him that he will be sent away if he ever talks about the suitcases. The suitcases therefore represent the Hunter family’s capacity for self-deception and murder.
