63 pages • 2 hours read
Heather GudenkaufThe Overnight Guest
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022A 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
“A Fistful of Stars”
The phrase “a fistful of stars” appears twice in The Overnight Guest. It is said first in the timeline of the women’s childhood, as Wylie and Becky pretend to catch stars while jumping on a trampoline shortly before Wylie’s parents are killed. It appears the second time when Wylie hallucinates seeing her loved ones as Randy chokes her, specifically as Wylie sees Becky at 13 years old and imagines holding her hand. This phrase symbolizes the potential of seemingly impossible things. In its first appearance, Wylie thinks the phrase in her last minutes of enjoying her childhood, caught in a magical moment with her closest friend. She reaches for the stars in an acknowledgement of her untapped potential; the stars are her future, vast and unknowable. The return to the phrase comes as Wylie is still processing the impossible: Becky has returned despite Wylie’s belief that she was killed, and moreover, Becky brings information that can grant Wylie some measure of closure after years of mourning and suffering from guilt. Once again, the stars represent Wylie’s future. Though this time that future is more concrete and adult, grounded in a far darker reality, the return of the phrase reflects the restoration of one small but important fragment of her childhood.
Darkness and Light
The motif of darkness and light within the novel highlights the complex relationship between safety and knowledge. Wylie suffers from an intense phobia of darkness stemming from the night her loved ones died. Her parents were shot in the middle of the night, and she was forced to spend most of that night hiding in a cornfield, firmly associating darkness with danger. In contrast, the light of day allowed her to get help, linking light with safety in her mind. Darkness marks a lack of knowledge, as darkness hid the identity of her family’s killer and Becky’s captor for decades. Wylie’s aversion to darkness highlights The Different Impacts of Trauma, showing that her instincts have made her loathe something that was once natural and not a source of fear.
For Becky’s daughter, however, light is more dangerous than darkness. The girl narrates darkness as most often being a source of comfort, as she aligns sleeping with her mother and an absence of Randy with darkness. During daylight hours and in brightness, she is forced to face Randy’s abuses and acknowledge the abnormality of her circumstances. In the light, she must face the truth of the world, making the cover of darkness a safer space where she can imagine a different world, allowing herself to feel at ease. The girl’s preference for darkness is a trauma response that reverses Wylie’s perception, showing how different perceptions can yield different reactions to trauma.
Ethan’s Gun
Ethan’s gun is a shotgun with camouflage coloration, gifted to him by his grandfather. The gun serves as a point of contention between Ethan and his father and becomes one of the main pieces of evidence tying him to William and Lynne’s murders. For the novel’s children, the gun represents adulthood. It is novel and enticing, a symbol that Ethan has become more mature. Because of their youth and inexperience, the children do not yet realize the significant burden represented by gun ownership and the danger that they are in; Ethan’s insistence that he is taking care of the weapon and being “safe” directly contradict his decision to allow his peers to use it. This impulsiveness is indicative of his broader approach to life, compounded by his streak of teenage rebellion. Ethan’s behavior forms the foundation of the accusations against him, transforming him into a figure who is actively dangerous rather than trying to find his place in the world.
Locked Doors
Locked doors, as well as the question of who has the authority to lock them, constitute a symbol that plays a vital role in the larger theme of Entrapment and Freedom. Most notably, Becky and Josie have their movements restricted by a locked door. Randy keeps them contained within the basement of his house, controlling the flow of individuals and resources. The locked door represents an absolute removal of autonomy for Becky until she successfully uses the tools available to her to gain the ability to unlock and relock it herself, taking her first steps toward freedom. Later in the novel, when she attempts to lock Wylie out of the house during the storm, the act of locking the door is symbolic of Becky’s increasing power over her own life. It is the first time she has been able to create a meaningful barrier between herself and another adult in 20 years. As Becky gains the freedom to establish physical boundaries, her empowerment increases. Simultaneously, though, by ironically locking herself in once again, Becky is also postponing the reconciliation that will ultimately lead to her next step toward freedom.
It is worth noting, however, that the presence of unlocked doors are also significant for the text. During her childhood, Wylie notes that, “The Doyles never bothered to lock their doors Why would they? They knew their neighbors, were miles from town, and had nothing of real value to steal” (73). To the Doyles, there was no need for security, and their unlocked doors became symbolic of their broader trust in their neighbors. The irony of Wylie’s statement, of course, is that the Doyles do have something of value, that is, their lives and sense of safety, which are tragically stolen from them even as Wylie ruminates on their apparent security.
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By Heather Gudenkauf
