55 pages • 1 hour read
Jacqueline SusannValley of the Dolls
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1966A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Real-Life Celebrities
Valley of the Dolls is widely considered a roman à clef, a thinly veiled story about real people. Articles and reviews often try to link book characters to their real-life inspirations, and Susann namedrops a few in the text. Aside from being salacious, these mentions of real celebrities become a motif in the text that creates an authentic atmosphere and foreshadows the three protagonists’ fates. For example, Neely’s agent compares her to Judy Garland, a household name known for her meteoric rise to fame, multiple marriages, and drug addiction. Creating this association early allows the reader to anticipate Neely’s arc, from her bright start to her first fall from grace and eventual comeback.
Likewise, comparing Helen to Ethel Merman establishes Helen’s arc as a talented, bawdy actress who is used by producers before being discarded for younger talents. Finally, when a receptionist describes her ideal future to Anne, she compares herself to Carole Landis, who died by suicide at the age of 29. The circumstances of her life and death parallel Jennifer’s. Carole was nicknamed “The Chest” due to her curvy figure, similar to how Winston calls Jennifer’s breasts his “babies.” Likewise, Carole died of a drug overdose and left two suicide notes: one to Rex Harrison, her lover who abandoned her, and one to her mother, though Jennifer leaves her second note to Anne. Like with Neely, this early allusion to Carole Landis foreshadows Jennifer’s short life characterized by heartbreak.
Betrayal and Deceit
The motif of betrayal is so prevalent in the narrative that virtually every major character experiences betrayal and betrays another. Neely, the only woman in a post-vaudeville dance trio, is betrayed by her brother-in-law, who allows her to be eliminated from the group when it gets its first break. Later, with the help of her studio, Neely tricks her husband Mel into returning to New York from Hollywood so she can divorce him without dividing her property. Tony enters an affair with a Hollywood starlet, betraying Jennifer, who subsequently tricks him into following her to New York and then divorces him. Anne uses Henry to concoct a financial plan that will keep Lyon from returning to England, resulting in their marriage. Henry betrays Anne by revealing the secret plan to Neely, who reveals it to Lyon; Lyon and Neely betray Anne by conducting an open affair.
Well-acquainted with the world she describes in the narrative, the author portrays these betrayals to shed light on the machinations of the upper echelons of society, in particular the entertainment industry. Susann gives step-by-step descriptions of several plots in which individuals are deceived cleverly into relinquishing roles, rights, and riches. Deception is a harsh, pervasive reality in the entertainment industry, and this motif highlights how Pushing the Norms of Society is often not as liberatory as it seems.
Escape
Another motif in the narrative is escape. At one time or another, almost every main character intentionally disappears. Sometimes, this disappearance is to manipulate another individual, as when Jennifer flies from Hollywood to New York so Tony will follow her. At other times, the disappearance is retaliation for similar treatment. Lyon wordlessly abandons Anne when she wants to console Helen, and when she discovers the next day that her aunt has died, she leaves a vague message and disappears for a week. She returns to find Lyon repentant. Characters also escape when their behavior causes problems and hiding is the easiest solution. For example, Claude hides Jennifer, who is set to sign a contract with a Hollywood studio, while she deals with her drug addiction. Neely, embarrassed by her inability to perform on the new medium of television, escapes to England and then Spain before falling off the grid entirely.
The character most prone to escaping is Lyon. Perhaps because of his war experience, Lyon does not engage in give-and-take discussions. When he cannot accept disagreement, he escapes. He abruptly leaves Anne when she wants to console Helen, and when she refuses to return to Lawrenceville—so they can live in her parents’ house and he can write—Lyon quits his job overnight and leaves for England. He doesn’t see Anne again for 15 years. When they do finally marry, Lyon virtually abandons her as he carries on with a resurgent Neely. When Neely defies him to leave her, he instantly drops her and returns to Anne. Unlike for the female characters, there don’t seem to be any consequences for Lyon’s disappearances, highlighting the power disparity between men and women in this society.
Susann portrays the social circles she writes about as not only indulgent but prone to running from their significant challenges. With this, the dolls become a symbol that represents this broader motif, and the protagonists use them to escape from the insurmountable challenges of being a woman in an oppressive patriarchal society. As with other forms of escape, the dolls are only temporary solutions, leaving the root causes and traumas unaddressed.
