Jackaby

Special significance is given to several pieces of clothing throughout the novel, both supernatural and otherwise. In the beginning, Abigail is forced to navigate her wardrobe choices as she adapts to her new life. Initially, she wears an ornamental dress left behind from her time in England, which puts her completely at odds with her new surroundings; when Jenny helps by loaning her new clothes, the experience becomes Abigail’s first real interaction with another female friend. In this way, Abigail’s clothing becomes symbolic of leaving her old life behind and building a new one in New Fiddleham.

Another motif that illustrates the symbolic power of clothing is Hatun’s knitted shawl, which “doesn’t make [her] invisible or nothing, just impossible to notice” (108). Rather than segregating based on the human and supernatural, Hatun’s shawl differentiates between “street folk” and those who live in security and comfort. At Hatun and Abigail’s second meeting, Abigail doesn’t notice Hatun right away, illustrating how Abigail is settling into her new life. While the novel does not explore the mechanics of the shawl’s magic, the way it only becomes visible to those who have fallen through the cracks of society suggests that it is a projection of Hatun herself—her distrust of others and her need to protect herself by staying out of sight.