65 pages • 2 hours read
Fiona DavisThe Spectacular
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A 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
The Rockettes’ Kick Line
The extreme precision used to create the Rockettes’ kick line signifies the importance of making sacrifices for a larger group. This is demonstrated when Marion struggles to conform to the demands necessary to dance in the Rockettes’ style. For example, she accidentally “kicks out” during the final performance, and notes that when she did so, “[t]he girls nearby had gasped, as had some members of the audience. She’d wanted to curl into a ball […] but she’d plastered a smile on her face and joined the others in the correct pose as the curtain dropped” (230). In reality, Marion thrives when she has the liberty to dance freestyle and interpret the music as she desires. The Rockettes’ strict choreography forces her to hide this part of herself, and she feels ashamed for making mistakes, desperately wanting to blend in with the other Rockettes.
Marion works hard to assimilate to the Rockettes’ uniform style, wishing to work as a professional dancer and to remain connected to such a supportive and encouraging sisterhood. Thus, the Rockettes’ kick line also symbolizes The Supportive Role of Sisterhood, and this dynamic is illustrated when two Rockettes assist the elderly Marion in climbing onto Radio City’s stage staircase at the end of the novel. As Marion’s narration states, “The women wrap their arms around my lower back, and I instinctively do the same, our arms crisscrossing at the elbows. It’s the same position every Rockette over the decades has executed as they prepare for the kick line” (342). The way in which the Rockettes instinctively assist Marion onto the stage represents the sense of sorority that each dancer acquires while working for Radio City. To a certain degree, the women understand how they all move and think, and they depend on each other for support in these moments of vulnerability.
The young Marion’s decision to leave the Rockettes highlights her dedication to individual sacrifice for the good of the group, for she is concerned that the dangerous attention of the bomber and her own inability to conform to the proper dance moves are causing her to hinder and even endanger the Rockettes. Upon realizing that she isn’t suited to dance with the Rockettes, she gracefully bows out before being dismissed, and this decision illuminates her heightened sense of self-awareness. She understands that the Rockettes will be more uniform without her, and she chooses to step aside instead of continuing to push for a position in which she doesn’t belong. Although Marion loses her position with the Rockettes, she holds on to the supportive friendships she has acquired during her short employment.
Jewelry
In several significant instances throughout The Spectacular, specific pieces of jewelry are used to indicate an attempt by one character to exert control over another. In all cases, the power differential is gender-based, and the jewelry is used by male characters to bribe Marion, make her feel guilty, or both at once. Early in the narrative, Marion’s pearl necklace symbolizes Simon’s attempts to assert control over his daughter. Simon frequently punishes Marion by taking away her pearl necklace, which once belonged to her mother, Lucille. He does this to force Marion to behave a certain way, and his act of taking the pearls also symbolizes his unarticulated desire to control what his daughter knows about Lucille. When the Rockettes initially hire Marion, she realizes, “What she’d done by auditioning went way beyond the pearl-withholding misdemeanors of the past. This was treachery” (49). Simon regularly asserts his power over his daughters, making it clear that he owns nearly everything they have. By withholding their possessions, Simon emphasizes his self-appointed position of authority. The pearl necklace also serves as a precursor to Simon’s more severe punishment of kicking Marion out of the house.
Simon is not the only male character to exhibit misogynistic tendencies of dominance, for Nathaniel often follows his lead. Nathaniel’s engagement ring symbolizes the life that he envisions for himself and Marion, in which he is the “man of the house” and Marion has given up her career to cater to his every whim. When faced with her reluctance, Nathaniel taunts Marion with the engagement ring, dangling it in front of her like he would offer a treat to a dog before putting it away. As he tucks the box “close to his body,” the narrative makes it clear that “[h]e was showing it to her, not offering it” (75). Thus, Nathaniel wishes to control Marion’s actions just as Simon does. His engagement ring symbolizes his desire to assert power over Marion and force her into a traditional, subservient role. With the ring, Nathaniel makes his intentions very clear: He will only provide Marion with what she wants if she behaves a certain way.
Simon and Marion’s Rolling Tremors
Simon and Marion’s initial rolling tremors, which are classic early symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, symbolize the issues of Asserting Control in an Unpredictable World. Both characters respond to their early symptoms in different ways that illustrate their respective relationships with the concept of control. Marion first observes Simon’s tremor when she speaks about Met Power’s personnel files and a potential link to the Big Apple Bomber, and the narrative creates a deliberate juxtaposition between Simon’s loss of motor control and his fear that he might lose control of his secrets at Met Power. Although Marion doesn’t initially know about Simon’s Parkinson’s diagnosis, she senses that he is emotionally distressed, and she is familiar with his lies and manipulative efforts. As the novel comes to a close, Simon begrudgingly submits to his worsening symptoms, doing very little to improve his quality of life.
Conversely, Marion refuses to allow her Parkinson’s diagnosis to control her life. As she explains to Peter, “I’m not my father. I’m going to have a different trajectory and I don’t plan on needing anyone” (350). Marion fights for control over her destiny, doing everything she can to manage her symptoms. She realizes that she cannot control unpredictable events like a neurodegenerative condition or a serial bomber. However, she does assert control over her reaction to these events, using her experience as a dancer to help others with Parkinson’s disease to partially reclaim their mobility.
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