The Breakdown

Tragedy intrudes on Cass’s life when she realizes that she was probably the last person to see Jane alive before her murder. The thought that she might have intervened and prevented Jane’s death creates overwhelming guilt. Then the gaslighting and harassment begin, and Cass’s belief that the killer is after her results in a near-constant state of terror. Her first-person narration reveals a rich interiority that explicates the effects of these emotions on her mental health and stability. The novel isn’t subtle about identifying the emotions under the microscope: “But it isn’t dementia that has robbed me of my independence, I realize […] It’s the guilt and fear that have riddled my every waking moment since I drove past Jane’s car two months ago. It’s guilt and fear that have diminished me” (199). Cass’s conflict with her unidentified tormentor and her experience of guilt and fear lead to physical pain, paranoia, depression, shame, and hopelessness, painting a clear picture of the havoc that prolonged guilt and fear can wreak on the human psyche.

Cass often uses figurative language to describe her experience with guilt or fear in terms of physical symptoms. Her secret about seeing Jane on Blackwater Lane feels as if it’s burned on her skin.