The Nature of the Beast

Throughout the novel, several characters conceal important information and lie in order to maintain their secrets. However, such attempts are almost always shown to be futile and destructive. The novel’s strategic descriptions immediately reveal that Ruth is keeping a secret related to John Fleming and the play; as soon as she learns that Fleming’s influence has invaded the village, Ruth finds herself vainly hoping that “maybe it would be all right. Maybe it would stay buried” (28). Ruth eventually reveals that she has been haunted for decades by a secret shame. This shame originates from the moment when Fleming approached her with a commission. Horrified at the aura of evil she could sense from the serial killer, she directed him to ask Al Lepage instead. Ruth’s shame at diverting the man’s attention to a neighbor is so great that it has robbed her of her creative abilities for many years; she explains that after the encounter, “she didn’t write again for decades” (286). She also attributes the encounter to a fundamental change in her personality, claiming that she was “nice once” (289). However, Ruth gradually comes to understand that her internal damage was not due to the traumatic encounter with Fleming itself, but to the secrecy she maintained around the event.