Woman on Fire

The painting Woman on Fire is the most prominent symbol in the novel, and the symbolism surrounding the idea of a woman on fire and its connotations is the novel’s central motif. The painting itself is described as 170 centimeters in height. The central figure is a woman, a nude “blonde goddess” with “aquamarine eyes” standing in engulfing flames. The painting is colorful but is notably not described in detail, which allows readers to fill in the gaps by imagining how a blonde woman in flames could be portrayed in the Expressionist style; thus, its image is fluid and adaptable, and its meaning is interpreted differently by each figure in the novel who has seen it.

There are three characters for whom the painting is most important: Ellis, Margaux, and Jules. For Ellis, though he has never seen the painting, it represents the memory of his mother, since she was the model for it. The image of his mother on fire reflects her fate: She was murdered by the Nazis. Thus, the flames represent her torment and demise.

For Margaux, the painting serves as a memento mori of her grandmother and grandfather. The beauty of the woman amid interpretable suffering represented by the flames gave comfort to her dying grandmother, and thus, to her grieving grandfather.