Necessary Lies

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2013

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-11

Chapters 12-21

Chapters 22-40

Chapters 41-58

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Lies

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of forced sterilization and sexual trauma.

Lies are a motif throughout the novel illustrating challenges to Personal Agency and Autonomy. The title itself—Necessary Lies—hints at the novel’s central conflict. At the heart of this motif is the initial lie told to Mary Ella, who is falsely led to believe that she requires surgery for appendicitis when, in reality, she is being involuntarily sterilized. Because Mary Ella is not of legal age, this surgery is performed with her guardian’s permission. The welfare agency justifies this falsehood by claiming it was perpetrated in Mary Ella’s best interest: She will no longer be able to get pregnant, which could place a strain on the family’s already limited resources. By deeming the lie “necessary,” the act of sterilizing Mary Ella against her will is reframed not as an unethical act but as an honorable and wise choice.

Jane is the only social worker who feels that lying about sterilization is an ethical violation. She thus supports Ivy’s right to personal autonomy when the agency presses Jane to pursue sterilization for her. In Jane’s view, lying about sterilization implies that Ivy’s personal desires and freedoms are not valued and that the interests of the State should come first. Thus, Jane feels justified in breaking protocol by informing both Mary Ella and Ivy that they have been lied to. The paradox within the novel’s title highlights the complexity of the situation Jane finds herself in.

Name Carvings

The name carving is a symbol of Ivy’s autonomy and her relationship with her daughter. When the police and one of the social workers arrive to take Ivy into custody after Mary is born, she carves the words “Ivy and Mary was here” into the wall of the closet where she futilely attempts to hide (311). Ivy does this to assert that she and her child were once together and, for a brief time, free to live lives of Ivy’s choosing. As Ivy herself puts it, this carving is symbolic of her desire to not be “erased.” Ivy understands that those who are in a privileged position seek to limit the agency of those they deem lesser than themselves via the eugenics movement. Her carving, then, is one of defiance—an attempt to exert her voice and will.

Each subsequent owner of the house decides to preserve the carving and requests future owners to do the same, despite not knowing the carving’s significance. In this way, Ivy’s voice is deemed significant and preserved. The carving is presented in the first chapter with little context, serving as a narrative mystery just as its background is a mystery to the homeowners. The end of the novel circles back to this opening scene, bringing closure to both the carving and its creator’s narrative. Ivy succeeds in ensuring neither she nor her daughter are erased, as Ivy goes on to bear more children and ultimately reunite with Mary.

California

Henry Allen brings Ivy a book with photos of California. Ivy is enchanted by the photos, drawn to them largely because of the way the scenery differs so much from what she knows. Ivy’s world is a small one, limited to her home, school, and the small radius around the Gardiners’ property. She knows that physical landscape beyond the rural South exists, but having never experienced it, she has difficulty comprehending it. To both Ivy and Henry Allen, California becomes symbolic of an escape to a new life—one where they do not need to keep their relationship a secret but can live happily. That California is a great distance away indicates just how drastic of a change they feel they must make. They are aware of the class difference between Henry Allen, whose father owns property and a productive farm, and Ivy, who is the poor tenant of that farm. Henry Allen is certain that this class distinction will not exist in California and that they can live free of judgment.

Though Henry Allen repeatedly insists that they will go to California, it seems impossible for much of the novel. California, then, symbolizes the unattainable—it represents for Ivy a dream life that is ideal but neither realistic nor feasible. However, her focus on this dream provides her with hope and motivation. Ultimately, Ivy and Henry realize their dream by living in California.