Don't Let Her Stay

“I should make him a home-cooked meal. No, make that a candlelit dinner. And we haven’t had sex in weeks and that’s my fault. I’ll wear something sexy. Do I have something sexy to wear? Something that still fits me? Something that won’t make me look like salami encased in twine?”

In this quote, Joanne considers how to breathe life into her relationship with Richard, as she feels insecure about her body and their lack of sex. This quote develops the theme of The Isolation and Challenges of Full-Time Motherhood by showing how Joanne’s post-partum self-esteem and exhaustion are impacting her relationship.

“‘About time Mummy found something to do, don’t you think?’ I whisper to Evie. Another quirk I’ve acquired lately, talking to myself while pretending to talk to my baby. ‘Otherwise, Mummy might go completely bonkers.’”

This quote illustrates how Joanne’s loneliness and boredom impact her mental well-being. She tells Evie that she needs something to do while lamenting that Evie, an infant, is the one she’s talking to, developing the theme that the demands of motherhood can be isolating.

“I would do everything in my power for us to get along. No, more than get along—for us to belong, as a family, together.

“Anyway, let’s just say things didn’t quite work out that way.”

This quote illustrates Joanne’s excitement about making Chloe feel like a welcome family member, showing her good intentions before Chloe’s arrival. The final sentence in the quote, from future Joanne looking back on the novel’s events, foreshadows the conflicts between the two and sets a tone of menace.

“She was actually bouncing Evie in a way that looked very uncomfortable, bordering on dangerous.”

Joanne describes how Chloe aggressively attempted to manage Evie’s crying the first time she held her, making Joanne wonder if she can trust Chloe with the baby. This moment also establishes Evie as a symbol of the power struggle between Joanne and Chloe.

“She hasn’t always been well, is what I meant to say. With everything that happened…you understand. But she’s great now. She’s wonderful, right? Isn’t she?”

Here, Richard hints at awareness that Chloe may have a mental health condition through his vague description of her not being “well” in the past. His repetitive questioning also suggests that he is seeking validation. This quote illustrates the denial Richard is in about Chloe.

“Chloe has stood up. Her eyes are wild, manic. She’s holding Evie out to me, her hands shaking. The bottle of formula has fallen on the floor.”

Chloe’s startling reaction to feeding Evie in this quote concerns Joanne, who just reluctantly agreed to allow Chloe to work as Evie’s nanny. This passage creates tension by sowing doubt about Chloe’s feelings toward Evie and raises questions about why Chloe would volunteer to watch the infant in the first place.

“I’m getting paranoid. It worries me, how paranoid I’m becoming. It worries me a lot. It makes me wonder if I’m just like my mother.”

The final lines of Chapter 11 show how Joanne’s mental state is beginning to be affected by Chloe and Richard’s lies and manipulation. Her suspicion that Richard took Chloe’s side because Chloe was eavesdropping makes her realize how paranoid she is feeling. This is also the first mention of Joanne’s mother and her experience with post-partum psychosis.

“And now, as I relive the events of the night in my mind over and over, I can’t help but wonder if I’m just like her after all.”

In this passage, Joanne replays the paracetamol incident and considers her mother’s post-partum psychosis. She wonders whether Richard was right in saying she overreacted, undermining her trust in both herself and her husband.

“I think you are losing your mind, Joanne. Just like your mother.”

Here, shortly after Joanne confronts Chloe about her absence during Joanne’s meeting, Chloe uses Joanne’s mother’s illness to gaslight her. Chloe denies that Joanne asked and suggests Joanne experiencing mental illness like her mother did. This language and sentiment also makes use of stigmas related to mental illness, making Joanne afraid.

“I hadn’t seen her there when I came in, but the look on her face as she stares at Evie makes my blood run cold. It’s a look of pure hatred.”

This passage foreshadows Chloe’s true intentions with Joanne and Evie, as revealed in the final chapters. It is one of the clues of Chloe’s true nature that the author scatters throughout the novel.

“‘Okay,’ she says in a tiny, tiny voice. But before she disappears she grabs the plate with the cake and shoves it in the bin, then almost throws the plate in the sink and runs out the door with a strangled sob.”

Following the eggs incident, Chloe puts on an act of innocence, pretending that the cake she made was to show appreciation for Joanne. By acting hurt and smashing the cake on the way out, Chloe wins the showdown, leaving Joanne to look like the bad guy in front of Richard and making her doubt what she remembers. This quote illustrates Chloe’s manipulative nature and is an example of her gaslighting Joanne.

“I have no idea what’s going on anymore.”

In this passage, Joanne reacts to watching Chloe be sweet and innocent with Evie on the hidden camera footage. Despite Joanne’s increasing suspicion of Chloe, the footage seems to suggest the opposite is true. This creates further confusion for Joanne.

“I know it’s not me who’s going mad, but if Chloe hadn’t shown me that stupid doctored photo, I would definitely be thinking I need my head examined.”

Joanne uses the doctored photo that Chloe created as an anchor proving her suspicions are well-founded. By acknowledging that the photo, and thus Chloe’s manipulative behavior, is real, Joanne begins rebuilding trust in her instincts. This passage establishes the photo as a symbol of the truth of Joanne’s suspicions.

“From the way he looks at me, I wonder if he wouldn’t do to me what our neighbour Mrs Delaney did to my mother: start a process that resulted in my mother being sectioned. Which would be outrageous. I mean, Mrs Delaney meant well, and she did the right thing. Whereas I’m not crazy.

“Right?”

In this passage, Joanne worries that Richard may try to send her against her will to a psychiatric facility. However, by now, she questions her own mental well-being after being continuously made to feel paranoid. This passage illustrates The Effects of Gaslighting. Joanne’s use of stigmatizing language about mental health conditions suggests that she has absorbed such stigmas, increasing her distress.

“You’ve got good instincts, Jo. You always have done. Trust them. Do what you have to, to get her out of your house.”

Here, Joanne’s long-time friend Robyn encourages her to trust her gut about Chloe. Up to now, Joanne’s isolation left her with no one trustworthy to discuss her concerns with. Her conversation with Robyn grounds her, reminds her of her true self outside of motherhood, and helps her gain clarity about her situation with Chloe and rebuild her confidence.

“He knows. He knows what she’s like, but he pretends he doesn’t. Or maybe he is so much in denial that he can’t bring himself to admit it. But one thing is suddenly very clear: he doesn’t want to provoke her.”

In this passage, Joanne recognizes that Richard knows, deep down, what Chloe is really like. Joanne begins to recognize that Richard’s demeanor around Chloe and deference toward her are rooted in fear. This quote emphasizes the theme of The Dangers of Denial as Richard’s denial about Chloe’s behavior becomes apparent.

“Richard does such a good job of pretending not to notice, it’s like Evie isn’t in the room. I bet that’s because Chloe is here. I’ve noticed he doesn’t like to show Evie too much attention when Chloe is around. Or he doesn’t anymore, because he used to, so that tells me he’s noticed something.”

In this passage, Joanne notices that Richard’s changing behavior toward Evie hints at Chloe’s malicious intent and dark past with Sophie. By acknowledging that Richard is acting differently toward Evie around Chloe, Joanne recognizes that she’s not the only one concerned about Chloe’s behavior, even if she’s the only one talking about it.

“Then I caught the look on Mr Atkinson’s face and believe me Joanne, he was scared of her. That man was afraid of his eleven-year-old daughter.”

Jim Preston describes Richard’s interactions with Chloe when Jim was reporting on Diane’s death. This detail provides additional evidence for Joanne that Richard knows Chloe may have been involved in Diane’s death and is in denial. It also suggests that something about 11-year-old Chloe was very frightening if it scared a grown man into submission.

“I’ve learned a lot today, and I suspect Richard is so deeply in denial that he will do or say anything to convince himself that Chloe is a normal, sweet, great kid, whatever, because the other option is simply unthinkable.”

In this passage, Joanne considers the reasons for Richard’s deep denial about Chloe. She suggests that acknowledging Chloe’s nature would mean accepting the fact that Chloe did something to Diane and Sophie, which would be too painful for Richard.

“It can’t be right, because if it is, it means that Chloe was telling the truth. He didn’t call her. He just pretended. Nobody is coming to save you. Except in this case, he did call. And then he called back and cancelled.”

In this passage, illustrates the moment when Joanne begins to believe Chloe’s story that Richard is the true villain. Her story explaining why Roxanne never arrived aligns almost perfectly with Roxanne’s version of events, forcing Joanne to consider whether Chloe was truthful all along. Only after Helen reveals the truth about Chloe does it become clear that this, too, was manipulation on Chloe’s part.

“If I had any doubts left, they’ve just vanished. What Chloe said about Richard having money troubles, it was all true. Everything is true. The man I married, the man I’ve been madly in love with all this time, is a monster.”

When Joanne learns from Jim that Richard’s business is in financial trouble, the mistrust Richard’s denial sowed throughout the novel blossoms. Richard’s refusal to help her makes it easy for Joanne to believe the worst about him. By showing that Richard has a clear motivation to kill her, Chloe manages to fill the remaining gaps in Joanne’s suspicion of Richard.

“You can’t believe a word she says. It’s my fault, I know that. You were right all along.”

Here, a desperate Richard admits to keeping blinders on when it comes to Chloe’s behavior because he didn’t want to admit she could be dangerous. This quote emphasizes the theme of the Dangers of Denial as Richard tries to repair the damage he’s done to Joanne’s trust through his denial. However, he acknowledges the truth too late, resulting in Chloe killing him.

“Criminally insane. I told Richard never to let her out of the psychiatric ward, but he wouldn’t listen. He wanted to believe the best of her, no matter the evidence right in front of his face. Always did.”

Here, Chloe’s maternal grandmother, Helen, expresses her opinion of Chloe and laments that Richard never acknowledged the truth about her nature. This quote illustrates the theme of The Dangers of Denial by showing how Richard’s denial has kept Chloe at large all these years. It is important to note, however, that Helen uses outdated, offensive, and stigmatizing language about mental health conditions and that people with such conditions are far more likely to experience crime than perpetrate it.