57 pages • 1 hour read
Elin HilderbrandGolden Girl
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021A 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
Golden Girl
The title of the book, which is also the title of Vivi’s book, is an important symbol and motif in the story. It is derived from the song Brett wrote for Vivi when they were in high school, also titled “Golden Girl.” This, being the origin of Vivi’s book, has multiple levels of symbolism. Firstly, the book goes on to become Vivi’s greatest success, reaching the top of the bestseller lists. However, it was born out of a choice that Vivi later regretted all her life—her lie to Brett about her pregnancy. In this way, the title speaks to the theme of Introspection on Life’s Achievements and Regrets and how the two coexist.
Secondly, the title connects to The Power of Fate and Destiny Versus Choice and Agency. Although Vivi regrets the lie, she later learns through Martha that if not for it, she and Brett would have never found this level of success. Thus, this outcome necessitated this specific series of events leading up to it. Additionally, the origin of the song, and so the title, speaks to the theme of Growing Up After Parental Loss in Adulthood. Brett originally wrote the song for Vivi following her father’s death, and it speaks to how deeply in love he and Vivi were. Brett’s support was especially necessary for Vivi at that time in her life because she was grieving her father’s death; due to this experience, she understands and empathizes with her children’s similar need for care and guidance following her death. Finally, the title is a nod to Elin Hilderbrand herself. Vivi is a novelist who writes books set in Nantucket, and Golden Girl is one of them; it eventually made it to the top of the bestseller lists.
Martha’s Scarves
Martha’s scarves are an important recurring symbol in the book. Each time Martha appears, she is wearing an elegant designer scarf. She eventually tells Vivi the story behind them: The scarves belonged to Martha’s sister, Maribeth, who had an affair with Martha’s boyfriend and eventual husband, Archie. Six months after Martha’s accidental death, when the three of them were out swimming together, Maribeth went on to marry Archie. Martha used the one nudge she was granted to make her sister’s scarves “disappear,” and she brought them up to the “Beyond.”
The scarves are a constant symbol to Martha of her sister’s and husband’s disloyalty, which connects to Introspection on Life’s Achievements and Regrets. Despite having lived what she believed was a happy and fulfilled life, she only realized upon posthumous introspection that her relationships were not what they seemed. This leaves Martha with some bitterness and egret in the “Beyond,” prompting her to steal her scarves back. The fact that she wears them all the time signifies how this experience has come to define her in perpetuity, in the afterlife.
The scarves also speak to the theme of The Power of Fate and Destiny Versus Choice and Agency. Martha cannot do anything in the face of Maribeth and Archie’s love beyond stealing her sister’s scarves and causing her a little inconvenience. She knows a nudge is powerless in the face of true love. Martha’s scarves thus symbolize how some things in life are predestined and cannot be changed by actions.
The Nudges
The nudges are a recurring motif in the book. First and foremost, they work as a narrative device that propels the plot: The reader knows there will be three instances throughout the story where Vivi’s intervention is required, and this foreshadows three moments of narrative tension in the narrative. Vivi’s decision to follow her three children’s lives against the backdrop of this information introduces the conflict in these characters’ arcs as well.
As a motif, the nudges speak to the themes of Growing Up After Parental Loss in Adulthood and The Power of Fate and Destiny Versus Choice and Agency. Vivi uses the three nudges with her three children at specific points in their lives where they still need her intervention. The use of the nudges highlights the central thesis of Hilderbrand’s exploration of growth: Even adult children are deeply impacted by the loss of a parent and sometimes need parental intervention or guidance to help their growth. The nudges also present a unique paradox in the context of destiny versus choice. Vivi makes conscious choices from the “Beyond” to impact the courses of her children’s lives, but her children experience these moments as divine or supernatural interventions. Vivi’s choices to employ the nudges become moments of destiny playing out for each of her children; these “fateful” moments then offer her children chances to make their own choices to change their respective destinies.
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By Elin Hilderbrand
