The Witch Elm

Cigarettes symbolize choosing the lesser of two evils to exercise control. Toby begins smoking to dull his sense of smell, as scents can trigger headaches and memories of his attackers. He hides his smoking habit from Melissa, like how Susanna sneaks cigarettes while away from her husband and children. The characters know smoking is bad for their health and that their loved ones would disapprove, but choose to do so anyway to alleviate stress and feel included. Until the reveal of Susanna and Leon as Dominic’s killers, Toby’s use of smoking to avoid traumatic memories reinforces the theory that he murdered Dominic but cannot remember doing so.

Susanna and Leon smoke while detailing Dominic’s murder. The former recounts the moment she became proactive about defending herself from Dominic: “She reached for another cigarette. ‘Somewhere around there was when I started thinking about killing him’” (411). She views both smoking and killing Dominic as the lesser of two evils, ways to take control of a dangerous situation. Cigarettes also symbolize the importance of filial loyalty, even when harmful secrets are revealed. The characters frequently trade cigarettes as they sneak outside Ivy House to share secrets. Singing and hiding from the older members of their family, Toby “started to laugh. ‘Let’s have a bloody good cry,’ Susanna joined in, and we all finished it together in style, cigarettes and bottle raised high” (117). Despite their differences and respective grudges, the cousins unite and act defensively toward outsiders (like Detective Mike Rafferty). Toby becomes protective of Hugo upon moving into Ivy House, and Susanna advocates for his health while speaking with his doctors. When Toby finally learns the truth about Dominic’s murder, he has no desire to turn Susanna and Leon in to the authorities; previously, he only thought of his own survival, but his bond with Hugo and his cousins changes his mind. In the end, the family sells Ivy House to pay for Toby’s legal fees (after inadvertently killing the outsider, Rafferty). Although the family grows apart by the novel’s end, they remain loyal to each other.