Ugly Love

Hoover’s depiction of water conforms to the traditional symbolism of water as a means of birth and renewal, as well as death. The author also uses water to subvert romance tropes. Every time Tate is around Miles, she becomes “only liquid.” By this, she means her boundaries erode. Tate doesn’t say what she really thinks, and she essentially melts into Miles, whom she views as “solid.”

Due to their unequal relationship, Tate loses her sense of self and self-respect. Instead of being firm in her convictions, she emotionally bends to please Miles: “Well, that’s embarrassing. Now he knows exactly how much I’m not Tate when I’m near him. I’m liquid. Conforming. Doing what he asks, doing what I’m told, doing what he wants me to do” (174). Every time she is liquid, she has no boundaries, and her will takes the shape of whatever Miles dictates.

Several of the novel’s most pivotal scenes occur around water, like the day Tate and Miles leave dinner and stand in the rain together:

The sporadic drops turn into sprinkles, which then turn into full-on rain, but neither of us has moved. Neither of us is making a mad dash for the car.