The Orphanage by the Lake

“She extends her hand and I shake it, feeling like I’ve just done a deal with the devil herself.”

When Hazel accepts Madeline’s case and agrees to search for Mia, she feels as if she has “done a deal with the devil.” Another term for a deal with the devil is a “Faustian bargain.” In a Faustian bargain, a person agrees to give up their soul in exchange for something in return, typically wealth. Hazel’s description of the deal in this way illustrates her reluctance to take the case. However, it is not a true Faustian bargain: Although the case is dangerous, the result of the deal is ultimately beneficial to Hazel not only financially, but in terms of her confidence as well.

“The assault doesn’t end when the attack ends. It stays with you, hiding behind every door you open, every corner you turn, even haunting your dreams. It’s happened to me before. It’s why I got into this business, and it’s why I won’t stop now or ever.”

This quote describes Hazel’s motivations for becoming a private detective. Here, she simply references an “assault.” She does not reveal the details of what happened to her until much later on in the narrative. Her use of the more generic term of “assault” rather than “rape” here illustrates how hard it is for Hazel to talk about what happened to her in detail, even when she reflects on it to herself. It is one more element of the far-reaching impact the trauma has had on her life.

“I’m thirty years old, I’m broke, I have no clients, and I’m alone. Other than that, I’m crushing it.”

One of Hazel’s chief qualities is her dry, self-deprecating sense of humor. She does not take herself too seriously. She uses her humor to alleviate her self-doubts and tense situations. This quality is present in this quote, where she lists her “failings” and then follows it up with a sarcastic statement that she is otherwise “crushing it.”

“Unconsciously, I start humming ‘Time after Time’ to myself. I hear Mia’s voice in my head, and her words pour through me, singing about being lost and how if I look I can find her. She’s out there somewhere. This girl who never knew her family and now has lost whatever human connection she did have. I can’t let her down.”

This quote references one of the key motifs of The Orphanage by the Lake, Mia singing “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper (See: Symbols & Motifs). Symbolically, Hazel follows Mia’s voice until she finds her, just as is alluded to in the lyrics of the song itself. Hazel feels as if “her words pour through [her],” suggesting that Hazel is somehow connected to Mia’s spirit in a way that gives her determination to continue the case.

“From one glance, I can see this is a place of history. A place of tradition. A place of secrets.”

This quote uses the parallel structure of “a place of…” to emphasize the multiple facets of Saint Agnes. Depending on how one looks at it, it represents “history,” “tradition,” and “secrets.” This connects Saint Agnes with the theme of Appearance Versus Reality: It appears historical and stately, but it is also more than it seems on the surface.

“I want to go home. There’s something about this place, something eerie that slithers inside you. But I can’t leave Lake George yet. Not before I talk to the police and find out what they know.”

Hazel feels uncomfortable in Lake George, reflecting The Influence of Setting on Narrative Tension. She is a New Yorker who is something of a fish-out-of-water in the rural community and she “want[s] to go home.” Nevertheless, she has an investigator’s sense that there is an underground, creepy current that runs through the small town. She describes it as “something eerie that slithers inside you,” implying that this current is metaphorically snake-like. Snakes are traditionally symbolic of evil, which is what Hazel is feeling.

“Yeah, there’s been runaways, but that’s not uncommon when you’re dealing with kids from broken homes. In fact, it’s a big part of the reason my boss doesn’t want to put any more resources toward this investigation. In the past, half of the runaways eventually come back or are found, and the other half cause some sort of trouble in the community on their way out. You know, petty theft, hitchhiking, graffiti, et cetera.”

The novel addresses the way that at-risk youth, particularly minority youth, are treated by authorities. Their disappearances are not taken seriously and are often not rigorously investigated. This quote from Bobby Riether gives insight into the police’s perspective on these cases, and why they often choose not to allocate resources to addressing the problem.

“If there is one thing in this world I hate, it is being disrespected. When you’re a short Korean girl, your life is one long litany of disrespect. You watch people do funny Asian accents in movies or tell you that you can’t drive or ask you where you’re from. But it’s not just the disrespect, it’s the inability to do something about it. If you disrespect me and I punch you in the face, that’s one thing. But if you disrespect me and I have to swallow it, that’s a soul crusher.”

In this quote, Hazel describes how it feels when she encounters anti-Asian racism and how she feels she has to respond to it. Hazel is a proud, pugilistic young woman, but when she experiences anti-Asian racism and cannot respond the way she wants to, she feels it is “soul crush[ing].” This provides insight into Hazel’s personality and how her life experiences have shaped her understanding of the world.

“When I’m doing investigative work, I’m confident and comfortable. Despite the ambiguity and lack of information associated with a case, I always know the path forward—that if I have the time, I can question the right people, check the right leads, and discover the truth. There’s a process. But once I’m out of that world, I’m flailing, never knowing what to wear, what to say, how to act. And even when I make the right choices, I feel like an impostor just waiting to be exposed.”

This quote alludes to the theme of Appearance Versus Reality. Hazel presents herself as a capable, put-together professional while at work. However, outside of her work, the reality is much more complicated and messy. This discrepancy between her exterior presentation and who she truly is within makes Hazel feel like “an imposter.” This is an ironic statement because at the end of the narrative, the true imposters are revealed to be Andrew and Sonia.

“When you’re a private investigator, you get a sixth sense for moral rot like something gone bad in your refrigerator.

I can smell it. I just don’t yet know the source.”

In this quote, Hazel uses a colorful extended simile that compares the smell of “moral rot” to the smell of “something gone bad in your refrigerator.” This quote is an example of Hazel’s sense of humor even in the face of tense situations. It also plays on Hazel’s love for food (See: Symbols & Motifs) and makes a slight allusion to the idea that Hazel, as a busy, disorganized young person, might be very familiar with the smell of something that has gone off in the fridge.

“He shoots me the side-eye. ‘Hazel, doesn’t all this make you a little nervous?’

‘What?’

‘The fact that all these powerful families have been supporting Saint Agnes for years and girls have gone missing from Saint Agnes for years.’”

Kenny warns Hazel that the case might be dangerous because it involves the “powerful families.” This is an example of foreshadowing that also builds narrative tension. Kenny is indeed correct about the connections between the wealthy families and the disappearances of girls from Saint Agnes. His concern is realized when Hazel finds herself in danger at the hands of the heir of one of those powerful families, Andrew DuPont.

“I know full well that this is not the theater I’m looking for, but the more I learn about Dionysus and the traditions that surround him—ritual sacrifice, hedonism, madness, frenzy, ecstasy—the more I’m certain that someone lured Mia into something sinister. In my business, I’ve found that symbols matter. What people choose for their car, their passwords, their screen names, their brand provide a window into who they truly are.”

In this quote, Hazel draws a connection between the symbol of Dionysus, what it represents (See: Symbols & Motifs), and the Dionysus Theater. She is right to be concerned: Dionysian celebrations were considered so dangerous in ancient Rome that they were outlawed in 186 BCE. Although what occurs at the contemporary Dionysian Theater is different from the ceremonies that took place in its ancient Greek counterpart, the use of the name suggests a spiritual if not literal resemblance to its values of hedonism.

“The stain has turned brown with time, but that’s definitely blood. And by the looks of it, I’m guessing it can’t be more than a month old. I try to imagine what could have taken place here. Some type of fight club? An underground medical procedure? My mind goes to the darkest places. What kind of jazz club has bloodstained floors?”

This quote illustrates the way that Hazel pursues her investigation. She finds a small piece of evidence and uses that to speculate about its possible meanings. This quote is also somewhat ironic. Although Hazel considers some outlandish possibilities—including a “fight club”—what is actually going on, a pedophilic sex club, is so depraved it does not even cross her mind. The blood stains also invoke The Influence of Setting on Narrative Tension.

“In some ways, it would have been easier if it was a pool of blood, the kind you’d see from a gunshot wound to the head. But this was just a small stain. It’s a metaphor for this case: something mundane with ominous implications beneath the surface.”

In this quote, Hazel reflects on the theme of Appearance Versus Reality. She recognizes that on the surface, the case is “mundane,” simply a troubled girl who has gone missing, but that there are “ominous implications beneath the surface.”

“Tears stream down my face, my body shakes, and I realize that everything I’ve been keeping inside is now trying to escape. In my day-to-day life, I put on a brave face, but I have no idea what I’m doing. When that knife blade touched the skin on my neck, I saw everything I am and everything I’m not in one moment. I’m thirty years old, broke, and living in a run-down apartment, and my only hope right now is a narcissistic rich lady whose case might get me killed.”

When faced with death, Hazel’s life flashes before her eyes. In addition to her fear in the aftermath of this moment, she is full of regret about what she has not yet accomplished in her life. It is also a moment when the tough, pugilistic front Hazel presents to the world breaks down and she shows the vulnerability she truly feels.

“My entire image of Madeline has shattered into a million pieces in five minutes. This woman’s got a lot more depth to her than I ever thought possible.

‘I’m guessing your parents weren’t the most enlightened folks?’

‘That’s a charitable way of putting it. My mom is just a flat-out racist. The idea of having a Black child in the family was totally unthinkable to her.’”

In this quote, Hazel reckons with how her understanding of Madeline as a “narcissistic rich lady” (168) is distinct from who Madeline really is. It is one of many moments in the narrative where people are revealed to be not who they seem or who Hazel thought they were. It also a moment where Madeline describes the racist values to which her mother expected her to conform, invoking the theme of Conforming to or Defying Parental Expectations.

“Fear is like a cancer—it starts with an actual moment but then multiplies and gains hold of you until it’s bending your experience of everything around you.”

Hazel experiences multiple traumas over the course of the narrative, including a rape, an assault, and a high-speed car chase. These are “actual moment[s]” that engender fear. As a result of these traumas, Hazel’s fears begin to leak into her everyday life.

“My hand trembles as I take the weapon. Everything about this feels wrong. Between the knife collection and his obsession with me, I’m questioning if I really know the person I’ve been living with at all.”

In this quote, Hazel reveals how disordered her suspicions have become. She suspects those who are innocent, like Kenny and Dr. Mackenzie, for their quirky but ultimately harmless behavior. She is increasingly aware of the difference between Appearance Versus Reality but is still focusing on the wrong targets.

“‘Find Mia by the end of the night tomorrow, and the money is yours. Otherwise, I move on to someone who can find her.’

She wants this to be the last word, but I won’t give it to her. I throw my feet up on my desk and place a pen in my mouth like a cigar.

‘Okay, Madeline. But you should know, you’re not off the hook. I will go where this investigation leads, even if it leads me back to you.’”

As mentioned in the Background, The Orphanage by the Lake plays with tropes of the detective genre. This scene is emblematic of this genre. Like a classic noir detective, Hazel is pressuring her suspect with her feet propped up on the desk. While she is not smoking a cigar like Peter Falk as Columbo, she “place[s] a pen in [her] mouth like a cigar” in a way that evokes and subverts the classic imagery.

“It seems like every day the pressure builds. Will I be able to pay the bills? Will I find Mia? Will another set of cops come after me? Is Bobby one of them? Is Mackenzie in on it? Will I ever be safe? My throat catches.”

The series of rhetorical questions that Hazel poses to herself without answer expresses the ratcheting tension she is feeling as a result of her search to find Mia. It is as if she is in a panic and the questions are scrolling through her head at a rapid-fire pace.

“‘We need to get the police, now,’ I say, expecting to see matching disgust on his face. But I see the opposite. Andrew’s face shows delight. Pure, maniacal delight. His smile—broad and high—reveals his canines. The twinkle in his eyes has morphed into a demonic glare.”

This quote is the moment of the major plot twist in The Orphanage by the Lake. The narrative’s expectations are subverted: Hazel expects Andrew to be shocked by the scene in front of them. Instead, he is delighted by it. His face in this moment transforms from the handsome man she recognizes into something more animalistic and terrifying, as his “canines” show and his eyes take on “a demonic glare.”

“It all adds up. Her vow never to be poor. Her frequent trips to New York. Goolsbee’s hesitance to speak in front of her. Her beautiful clothing. Her secretive meetings with male patrons at the gala. Naming the club after Dionysus to implicate Goolsbee and Mackenzie. She’s been manipulating everyone from the beginning. My eyes squint at Sonia as if I’m seeing her for the first time.”

In this quote, Hazel is forced to recognize with how Sonia’s appearance is at odds with who Sonia truly is as a person. Hazel has a physical reaction to this realization and she “squint[s]” as if that way she could “see” Sonia more clearly in this new context. The use of “see” here plays on the verb’s dual meanings: She is both trying to literally apprehend something and figuratively trying to understand it.

“The trio drop to the floor, and in a flash, the other police are on them, pinning and handcuffing them. As the cops drag them out of the room, Sonia hurls obscenities in Spanish, while Jaw Scar and Zombie Eyes curse and spit.

I watch them leave in cuffs, and a wave of relief bursts through my chest, so strong I can barely breathe. I look to the ceiling, searching for someone to thank for this miracle.

Then I hear a familiar voice.”

This passage comes from the climax of the novel when Hazel has solved the case and the police arrive to arrest the perpetrators. This is also an important turning point in the relationship between Hazel and Kenny. Throughout, Hazel has found Kenny a little annoying. In this moment, he is a “familiar voice” that is comforting in the midst of chaos and relief.