The Patron Saint of Liars

Content Warning: This section discusses a death by drowning.

Son’s tattoo that says “Cecilia” is a motif that highlights The Complexity of Truth and Lies throughout the novel. He initially gets the tattoo to honor his love for his fiancée, Cecilia. However, she changes her mind about marrying him after he is medically discharged from the armed forces. The tattoo ends up having a deadly result: Cecilia is so angry when she sees it for the first time that she explicitly tells Son not to look at her and then goes swimming. As a result, he doesn’t notice she is drowning until it is too late. While he does go in to save her, he hesitates for a moment; she has made him suffer several times before by rebuffing his affection, and finally, she needs him so desperately as she is drowning that he enjoys it. However, he is too late when he tries to save her, and she dies.

Son never tells anyone about how he thinks he might have saved Cecilia’s life if he hadn’t hesitated; this lie of omission nevertheless haunts him always, and the tattoo represents the guilt he carries around. While Rose, too, is haunted by her lies, Son’s tattoo is a physical reminder that lies have consequences that extend into the future.