The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels

Cecilia’s hair is a symbol of love and desire, with her hair exercising a particular power over Ned. In their first physical altercation outside of the Wisteria Society meeting, Ned “smiled against [Cecilia’s] hair. And although Cecilia was not afraid, inexplicably she began to warm” (61)—a moment that demonstrates their romantic attraction and foreshadows their union at the novel’s end. This connection occurs again when Ned looks at Cecilia after the kidnapping of the Wisteria Society. He notes, “Her hair was only barely secured in its braided crown…Suddenly, Ned realized he was the one in peril” (97). The looseness of the hair represents Cecilia’s growing feelings toward Ned, as the closer her hair comes to being undone, the closer Cecilia becomes to Ned.

An important moment in Ned and Cecilia’s relationship is their night in the hotel together. When Ned removes her hairpins, “sending her hair in a luscious deluge almost to her waist” (120), he almost has to leave the room. His feelings for Cecilia nearly come out, tempting him to either confess how he feels or kiss her, though he refuses to do either when she’s inebriated. Similarly, when they have sex after the battle against Morvath, she takes her hair down, and when Ned looks at her “long rosy hair […] he almost expired on the spot from adoration” (248), further illustrating the symbolic connection between Cecilia’s hair and Ned’s romantic feelings for her.