A Flicker in the Dark

As the violent perpetrators of the novel, the male characters featured in A Flicker in the Dark threaten the life and vitality of the women closest to them. Willingham highlights the latent violence within men that positions women as “victims.” However, Willingham uplifts her female characters to demonstrate the empowerment unique to women. Through Chloe’s story of redemption, Willingham exemplifies the power of women to overcome male violence and trailblaze a path toward freedom.

The threat of male violence provokes a deep fear within Chloe and the women of her community. From a young age, Chloe learns to fear men around her. Initially, she looks to her father as her protector. In her moments of fear and distress, she describes running toward her father to “slam into the warmth of my father’s outstretched arms” (2). Her father’s arrest for the Breaux Bridge murders disintegrates Chloe’s sense of safety and leaves her reliant on her brother Cooper Davis and fiancé Daniel Briggs’s overprotective natures. When Cooper questions Chloe’s decision-making and Daniel exhibits violent tendencies, Chloe is left unmoored from the promised safety of male protection. In her moment of panic, she turns to her mother who is in an isolated facility due to her condition. This automatic decision expresses Chloe’s innate understanding of women and the power they wield. When reflecting on the multiple interviews from parents of missing daughters, Chloe comments on how “the mother always speaks evenly, steadily” (59). As the fathers of the girls dissolve into shame over their inability to protect their daughters, “the mothers think in the present” and “formulate a plan” (59).

Chloe’s mother exhibits this shrewdness when she adapts to her surroundings and provides Chloe with guidance. Despite her inability to talk, Mona Davis uses the little strength she has left to communicate by tapping her fingers. Chloe understands her mother’s intentions and seeks her mother’s guidance regarding the new murders in Baton Rouge and their connection to Breaux Bridge. Validated by her mother’s unspoken support, Chloe initiates her investigation into Daniel, an act that eventually leads her to the truth of Cooper’s involvement. However, as Chloe grows more fearful of the increasing number of murders, she returns to a reliance on male protection. She forms a connection with Aaron Jansen. Trusting Aaron, Chloe divulges her darkest fears and secrets to Aaron who, unlike Cooper and Daniel, does not judge Chloe’s claims. This choice threatens to end in Chloe’s death until she summons the strength of her connection to her deceased friend Lena Rhodes.

Chloe uses Lena’s instructions to break into her childhood home and save Riley. Remembering Lena’s advice to use a card, Chloe utilizes Aaron’s forgotten press pass, which ultimately breaks and reveals his true identity as Tyler, her brother’s accomplice. Through Lena’s guidance and Chloe’s newfound courage, Chloe uncovers the truth and learns to rely on herself. Willingham solidifies this lesson when she showcases Chloe’s plan to drug Cooper and record his confession. Chloe takes the place of perpetrator. However, unlike Cooper, Chloe uses her strength to protect women and herself.