99 pages • 3 hours read
The Lovely Bones
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Symbols & Motifs
Photographs
Photographs are the most common recurring motif of the novel. Susie aspired to be a wildlife photographer, and one of her most treasured memories is of receiving an Instamatic camera for her birthday, which she uses to take many photographs. Most notably is the secret photo she takes of Abigail, which is the only one where Susie sees her mother as a complete person, rather than just as a mother. Abigail has constructed a hard shell of motherhood that conceals the real her, and maintaining this façade causes her great stress. While Susie keeps this photograph hidden, Lindsey and Lynn eventually discover it and are also able to see Abigail as a complete person. These photographs of Abigail are also what allows Jack to fall in love with Abigail again in her absence.
Because the authorities never recovered Susie’s body, photographs are the only way for the characters to remember her by. Ruth covets photographs of Susie from Clarissa’s locker to better connect with the deceased’s spirit. Ray keeps Susie’s studio photo, a gift from his first crush, in a volume of Indian poetry that he also uses to press flowers. Fenerman keeps a copy of this photo in his wallet with his other unsolved cases, but he eventually writes “gone” on the back of it, accepting that he can’t solve every case. Abigail also keeps a photo of Susie in her wallet, but she cannot bring herself to look at it. While returning to Norristown after Jack’s heart attack, she is finally able to look at the photograph again and leaves it beside a small tree that is struggling to grow. This act symbolizes her ability to now move on from Susie’s death.
Susie’s Charm Bracelet
Susie’s charm bracelet is a symbol that represents hope as well as her connection with her family. The charms Susie has on her bracelet are typical of a young middle-class suburban girl in the 1970s, and Abigail has an encyclopedic knowledge of every charm. Initially, the charm bracelet symbolizes the hope that the police will find Susie and bring her killer to justice. Susie attempts to steer Ruth, Jack, and the police towards her charm bracelet, which would implicate Harvey in her murder. Harvey also finds himself inadvertently keeping Susie’s bracelet after disposing of her body, and then hides it in an industrial development, keeping only her Pennsylvania keystone charm as a trophy.
However, the charm bracelet loses its significance as the narrative progresses, symbolizing how the characters grow to accept and move on from Susie’s death. A couple that moves to Norristown long after Susie’s death unwittingly finds the charm bracelet and wrongly assumes that the girl it belongs to has grown up.
Ships in Bottles and Snow Globes
Several items—such as the snow globe and the ships in bottles Susie built with her father—represent isolated areas that are sealed off and unchanging from the outside world. In the prologue, Susie thinks about the “perfect world” inside of a snow globe, language which she later uses to describe heaven. However, Susie worries that the penguin inside would be lonely, a suspicion that is recognized when she finds herself in heaven. These self-contained items are protected but cannot grow or change, just like Susie. Jack comes to accept that he cannot protect his children from every danger of the world, and all the characters come to understand that life and growth is only possible when it includes the possibility for pain and change.
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