Unravel Me

The bird that Juliette dreams about—which matches a tattoo on Adam’s chest—shifts its symbolic meaning as Juliette increases her control over her powers and continues her journey of self-acceptance. In the early pages of the novel, Juliette reflects on how the bird gave her hope when she was trapped in the psychiatric facility: “[The bird] used to meet me in my dreams, flying strong and smooth, sailing over the world like it new better, […] like it was leading me somewhere safe. It was my one piece of hope in the bitter darkness of the asylum” (29).

When Juliette was trapped, the bird, able to fly away, symbolized hope. As her circumstances improve, and Juliette begins to realize that she is still affected by the isolation she experienced in the psychiatric facility, she begins to see the bird as a haunting symbol of being fixed in place: “It’s frozen. Flapping its wings in place like it’s been caught in an invisible cage, […]. It looks as if it’s free to soar through the skies. But it’s stuck” (29). In this image, the bird represents the appearance of freedom; Juliette is not literally incarcerated anymore—she may seem free—but she hasn’t yet managed to entirely free herself from the trauma of her imprisonment.