The Girl I Used to Be

The novel opens in medias res with Olivia’s flight through the woods—a mirror image, or “double” of her experience as a toddler when her parents were murdered. Functionally, this scene forces the reader to take the development of the story seriously. Knowing that Olivia will somehow move from a quiet life in Portland to a life-or-death situation alerts the reader to real danger and that Olivia’s actions have real consequences. Additionally, this move suggests that the main character is not necessarily going to survive the story. Knowing that Olivia might die a mere three weeks after the novel begins requires that the reader be conscious of her mortality throughout.

Repetition also occurs in the pairs of Detectives and Chaplains that visit Olivia at the beginning and end of the novel. Though the actual people are different, it’s significant that it is both one of the first things and one of the last things that happen in the narrative. Their roles may represent justice and comfort, two things that Olivia is sorely in need of throughout the text. The pairs also deliver Olivia into new phases of her life.