One by One

“But she’s not married. So she gets to do whatever she wants without another person criticizing her every move.”

Claire’s perception of marriage is important to her character arc, speaking to the theme of Appearances Versus Reality. At the start of the novel, she resents her marriage with Noah and the strain their relationship puts upon her. Her view of Lindsay’s assumed freedom contrasts with the restrictive existence she feels she endures. Claire’s feelings toward both Noah and Lindsay will undergo huge shifts by the novel’s end.

“It’s all Emma’s stupid dream. I know it’s ridiculous, but it’s weighing on me. I need to put it out of my head. Before I let it ruin the week.”

The motif of Emma’s dream plagues Claire throughout the narrative, hinting at a darker truth lurking beneath the surface. Before they even leave for the trip, Claire senses that something is not as it seems, reflecting the theme of Appearances Versus Reality and foreshadowing the dangers Claire will soon face in the woods.

“If the two of us go out on a boat into the middle of the lake, I have a bad feeling only one of us will come back alive.”

Claire’s thought reflects the thoughts of the unnamed narrator (Lindsay), who planned to only have one person left alive after the trip to the wilderness. This casts suspicion on Claire and Noah. Throughout the novel, McFadden works to keep the identity of the unnamed narrator mysterious, dropping hints that it could be any of the characters in the group.

“I wasn’t dead. But Noah was killing me.”

Again, McFadden utilizes violent language to cast suspicion upon Noah. Claire describes her marriage to Noah as “killing” her, hinting that perhaps Noah will actually kill her later in the narrative—another usage of the red herring trope.

“After that, it seemed like we were at war more and more frequently. He never carried his weight when it came to the children and the housework, and what’s worse, he didn’t care. He told me all I did was nag him.”

Claire provides further insight into her marriage with Noah and how it soured. Claire feels the domestic duties unfairly pile up on her, which motivates her to begin an affair with Jack. Lindsay, however, has an idealized view of Claire and Noah’s relationship, which makes her reaction to Claire’s affair violently vengeful, illustrating the importance of Appearances Versus Reality.

“‘Trust me on this, Lindsay.’ Warner pats her shoulder. ‘You just don’t know better.’ I don’t like the patronizing way Warner is speaking to her.”

Lindsay’s façade of a relationship with Warner is built on the perception of power imbalance. She wants to make Claire concerned about her well-being so that she does not suspect the deceit Lindsay is working toward. Lindsay plays upon Claire’s trust in her, illustrating The Complexities of Deceit and Trust.

“I think of those claw marks on the tree. Despite Jack’s sweatshirt, I shiver and hug my chest.”

Claire shivers while thinking of the claw marks, even though she’s wearing Jack’s sweatshirt. Since the sweatshirt is symbolic of Claire and Jack’s relationship, this is significant: The sweatshirt fails to protect her from the cold like her relationship with Jack fails to fulfill her or protect her from the dangers in the forest.

“I have to keep moving. For Emma and Aidan.”

Claire’s motivation for survival is to return to her children, whom she thinks of often during moments of difficulty in the woods. Even when her marriage is rocky, her love for her children never falters. This foreshadows Claire and Noah’s reunion, which occurs after Noah shows Claire the photo of her and the children that he always keeps with him.

“I don’t tell them all the details from that night. Like the way Lindsay stroked my hair to make me feel better. About how we made one cookie almost entirely out of chocolate chips. About how we got caught in our caper by the heads of the dorm, and Lindsay took all the blame.”

Claire and Lindsay’s relationship is crucial to the plot, speaking to The Complexities of Deceit and Trust. The tenderness that Lindsay showed Claire after Ted cheated on her is in direct contrast to the later violence Lindsay shows Claire and those around her, heightening the dramatic contrast.

“There are small gaps between the trees, but there’s no visibility. Especially not at night, with only the small fire and the moon illuminating the clearing. If only we had brought a flashlight.”

McFadden engages with the trope of the ominous darkness/night that often appears in mystery/suspense/horror novels that take place in the rugged wilderness. The dark makes the woods feel claustrophobic and heightens the terror Claire and the others feel, speaking to The Psychological Impacts of Isolation.

“And why would Michelle take a walk when she had a sprained ankle? Especially because she wasn’t very comfortable in the woods. No, she would have stayed close to the camp. None of this makes sense.”

Claire’s questions about Michelle’s disappearance are rational, which makes what has happened seem irrational. The lack of logic adds to the fear that Claire feels: Michelle disappeared without a trace, as if eaten by a monster. Her vanishing without a trace engages with another mystery trope of random disappearances.

“And maybe I don’t hate him quite as much anymore.”

Claire’s changing perception of Noah is crucial to her character development. As she works alongside Noah to survive, she realizes that she does not hate Noah and instead still loves him—a love that is rebuilt on the trust they show each other to survive, adding a new dimension to The Complexities of Deceit and Trust.

“His fingers claw at his scalp.”

The use of the verb “claw” to describe Jack’s mannerism is significant. Since the claw marks are symbolic of Lindsay’s deceit and the rising fear amongst the group, McFadden’s choice to describe Jack’s actions with this word casts suspicion on him as another red herring.

“He stalks away from me, gripping the sweatshirt in his right hand. My teeth chatter as I watch him go.”

Jack takes his sweatshirt back after Claire gives it to him, essentially ending their relationship. Claire’s cold is brief, as she then takes Noah’s sweatshirt and his warmth. The repetition of the word “chatter” harkens back to when Claire first felt cold wearing Jack’s sweatshirt, illustrating that the relationship was deteriorating throughout the group’s time in the wilderness.

“I love you. The words are on the tip of my tongue. I haven’t said that to Noah in so long. We used to say it all the time. It used to be how we ended every phone call. We never say it anymore.”

Claire’s desire to tell Noah that she loves him reflects the intensity of her changed perception of Noah. However, given that she is still deceiving him about her relationship with Jack, their relationship has not fully changed, and she cannot yet confess her continued love for him.

“I can’t help but remember Emma’s words when she begged me not to go on a trip. I had a dream that a monster ate you.”

The motif of Emma’s dream appears again, though Claire does not remember the precise words that Emma used to describe her dream. Her use of proper syntax and grammar in her memory of Emma’s words illustrates that Claire now takes the dream seriously and truly views it as an omen of danger.

“But as I walk back to the campsite, I can’t shake the horrible feeling that I might not make it home from this trip alive.”

McFadden, throughout many of her novels, often utilizes cliffhangers at the end of each chapter. This example, from the end of Chapter 28, illustrates this technique: Claire does not think she’ll survive her time in the wilderness, crafting a looming sense of dread and invoking The Psychological Impacts of Isolation.

“I don’t entirely buy it. I look over at Noah, who has the same uneasy expression on his face that I do. Someone is living here.”

While Jack tries to convince Noah and Claire that the cabin is abandoned, Noah and Claire both disagree. This gesture of a shared look shows the growing intimacy between Noah and Claire, as their connections to Jack fade.

“This trip has been one of the worst experiences of my life, but I think it may have saved my marriage. As long as we make it home alive.”

Again, McFadden utilizes a foreboding cliffhanger to end Chapter 34. This cliffhanger is especially significant given that it immediately follows Claire’s positive thoughts about the future of her marriage to Noah.

“Now Snowball was buried in the backyard. My mother was buried in the local cemetery. And Bryan McCormick’s eye was long gone.”

McFadden’s choice to list the people (and the cat) that Lindsay harmed as a child concisely illustrates the depth of Lindsay’s violent tendencies. By lining up all the major instances of violence together, it weaves a tapestry of pain that Lindsay has left in her wake.

“Jack will know what to do. He’s been my rock for the last several months. He’s going to get us out of here. Thank God for Jack.”

Claire’s 180-degree shift in thinking—her belief that Jack could save her from Noah if needed—illustrates The Psychological Impacts of Isolation. Her mind is easily changed in a moment of stress, and her trust is transient, which also adds additional layers to The Complexities of Deceit and Trust.

“She was betraying the man she had pledged her life to in the worst way imaginable. She was no better than my father, who slept with his wife’s own sister. And then Noah tried to use me to get back at her.”

Lindsay’s thoughts succinctly explain the motivation behind her revenge plot. She wants to punish Claire because Claire’s behavior reminds her of that of her own father, and Noah’s behavior reminds her of the behavior of her mother.

“I always admired Lindsay for that one. I never would have had the nerve to threaten some creep with a broken beer bottle. But now when I look back at that night, I remember the gleam in her eyes and how much she seemed to enjoy seeing him squirm.”

Claire’s recollection of her memories with Lindsay takes on a new hue in light of Lindsay’s revenge plot. Claire can now, in retrospect, see the danger in Lindsay, the bloodlust that bubbled beneath the surface of her personality, speaking to Appearances Versus Reality.