46 pages • 1 hour read
A.J. FinnThe Woman in the Window
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2018A 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
Film Noir and Other American Movie Classics
Anna’s fascination with American classic crime dramas known as film noir, as well as other classic movies in black and white, informs the plot events as well as the tone of the novel. Damsels in distress, suspicious but handsome men, and melodrama all contribute to the suspenseful atmosphere and the genre categorization of The Woman in the Window as a psychological thriller. Anna watches her favorite film stars, film starlets, and film directors on a daily basis, so film noir becomes a pastime for Anna that imbues her life with a sense of mystery, simply by the fact that she spends so much time in the worlds created by the films themselves.
In interviews, Mallory has admitted that his novel closely parallels the plot of the movie Rear Window, and he subtly points to this connection in his use of classic films and film noir. Like Anna, the main character in Rear Window is confined to his home, he notices suspicious activity from his window, his friends doubt his sanity, and he is vindicated in the end.
The language of the novel is often succinct and fast-paced. Anna’s depictions of her life and experiences flash in and out of her memory, and at times, the reader is unsure of Anna’s sobriety. The realism of this narrative style lends the novel a script-like quality that is enhanced by the frequent mention of various characteristics of film noir and other movies from the same era. As well, Anna’s love of black and white films parallels the reader’s experience, which is also delivered in black and white, but this time, via letters and words inscribed on the page.
Jane Russell is the name of one of Hollywood’s most appealing and sexually attractive female actors of the 1940s and 1950s, and she shares her name with the “star” of Anna’s own real-life crime drama. Anna points out the coincidence to Bina, her physical therapist and friend, and together, they look for images of Jane Russell online; this exercise is a plot device that enables all readers to appreciate the author’s choice to name the character Jane Russell, regardless of whether or not reader are film aficionados themselves.
Mental Health, Prescription Drugs, and Alcohol
Anna’s frequent use of prescription drugs and alcohol draws attention to the ubiquity of mind-altering substances in her life and emphasizes Anna’s unreliability as a narrator. In the present day, she drinks excessive amounts of wine in combination with her medications, which cause her to doubt her own perceptions and to make her less reliable of a narrator to the reader. At other points in her life, however, both alcohol and drugs play a significant role. For example, the affair with Dr. Wesley Brill starts with a glass of wine in his office, which reflects a decision made due to reduced inhibitions. As well, Anna is filling the ice bucket to chill white wine at the inn in Vermont when she and Ed argue, unknowingly in front of Olivia, and they reveal their intention to separate; they argue as recklessly as if they had been drinking, but ironically, they have not yet begun to drink when their plan to protect Olivia unravels. Finally, Anna and Katie drink wine while they play chess and talk, which gives Anna’s memories of her afternoon with Katie a haziness that neither Anna nor the reader can trust.
Anna’s alcohol abuse conflicts with her training as a mental health professional. As a child psychologist, she is more aware than others outside of her field that mixing alcohol with psychotropic medications is dangerous, but, ironically, she persists in her habits. Also ironic is the fact that the first subject of Anna’s observations is a psychotherapist; though he knows the secrets of his clients, he is unaware of his wife’s affair with their contractor. As well, Dr. Fielding, though he is Anna’s clinician, does not have Anna’s full respect; she defies his instructions to avoid alcohol while taking the medications he prescribes and mocks his careful, “precise” manner behind his back.
Inclement Weather
Throughout the novel, inclement weather foreshadows danger, drawing attention to Anna’s experience as an agoraphobe whose fear of the outdoors can be traced directly to one specific traumatic experience that took place during a winter storm. After the car accident in Vermont, Anna is forced to wait for help for over 24 hours; she has driven her car off of a cliff, and she finds that Ed and Olivia are too injured to be able to communicate with her. Alone, Anna can only survey the snowy mountains before her and the expanse of stars above to pass the time. Later, she is told that exposure to the harsh winter elements likely exacerbated Ed and Olivia’s injuries, which proves to Anna that nature is indeed a serious threat.
Dr. Fielding’s suggestion that Anna use an umbrella as her “secret weapon” when she practices going outside has symbolic value to the reader; the umbrella functions as both a protection against inclement weather and a shield under which Anna can hide if she feels unsteady within herself. The umbrella represents the sense of safety that comes from within, which is a treatment goal for Anna as she works through her trauma. Though Anna mocks Dr. Fielding’s suggestion to use an umbrella in this way, the umbrella does give her extra confidence when she ventures out of her house at different times in the novel.
At the end of the novel, Anna is showing signs of health. She is sober, and she is taking her medications properly, and she resists having conversations with Ed and Olivia, focusing instead on her own future instead of the past. The sun shines as Anna takes a few steps into her backyard, and the pleasant weather foreshadows an optimistic future for Anna as she continues to heal.
