My Lovely Wife

“Millicent glares at me. She looks exactly like my wife and, at the same time, nothing like her.”

Variations of this quote are repeated throughout the novel to emphasize The Complexity of Identity. The narrator struggles to understand who exactly his wife “is,” what her moral limits are, and what horrors she is capable of. He also struggles to understand the same things about himself. These questions are not easily answered because both characters keep secrets and change over time, especially in response to being married to each other.

“When I returned home, my dream of traveling had been fulfilled but not replaced with another. Not until I saw Millicent. She looked like she was just beginning her own dream. In that moment, I wanted to be a part of it.”

This quote explains why the narrator was so drawn to Millicent in the first place: Having no real “dream” or purpose of his own, he felt like she could give him one. Seeing Millicent as someone who could fill the void inside him, the narrator found it easy to overlook her flaws for a while.

“Officially, the Oaks is one of the safest communities in the state. That’s because all the violence is behind closed doors.”

This quote calls into question the notion of “safety,” which amplifies the novel’s terror. Hidden Oaks is an expensive, gated community that many residents believe is “safe.” However, it is actually home to a ruthless serial killer, Millicent, who is even more dangerous because nobody realizes they should be afraid of her.