The Villa

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses death by suicide and includes references to miscarriage and abortion.

“That summer, the last good season of her life, was such a glorious one, full of blue skies and lemon-yellow sun, and there was no sign of all the horror to come.”

These lines, describe the joy of Victoria, the protagonist of Lilith Rising, depicting her last good summer, before her own violence shatters her temporary peace. The horror to come foreshadows that Victoria will kill her family and Colin, freeing herself in a baptism of blood. These lines also represent Mari’s own summer in 1974, encapsulating how happy she was at Villa Aestas until Johnnie murders Pierce.

“She looks different these days, thinner and blonder, but I can still see the girl I met the first day of fourth grade at Johnson Elementary, just outside of Asheville. The girl with a splash of freckles across her nose, big eyes and wide cheekbones, who’d leaned forward and conspiratorially whispered, ‘I’m glad I’m sitting next to you.’”

At lunch with Chess Chandler after a long absence, Emily feels the connection to her oldest friend. The imagery used to describe young Chess (then called Jessica) suggests a girl still in flux, before she becomes famous and grows up. The mention that Chess whispers “conspiratorially” in the fourth grade foreshadows the actual conspiracy to kill Matt and reclaim their lives at the end of the novel.

“Even if we are ships in the night most of the time, she is still my oldest and best friend. Which these days means we text when we can, call hardly ever, and see each other once a year if we’re lucky.”

Emily explains their distance, as their paths diverged. Emily remained close to home, writing comfortable books, and remaining in a pleasant marriage, while Chess chased her dreams. Using the metaphor of ships passing in the night, Emily stresses how rarely they see each other and how little their meetings mean.