Anna O

“Sleep, like food or water, is one thing no human being can do without.”

Ben’s language shows a scientific, factual tone that fits his career as a psychologist and characterization as an analytical, logical man who likes to understand things. The theme of The Significance of Sleep and Dreams is integral to this statement and the novel’s premise. Through the knowledgeable character of Ben, it is clear how fundamental sleep is for the human mind.

“Almost all Anna O documentaries start the same way.

I’m sorry. I think I’ve killed them.

Most think she must have been conscious to send that. Which means she must have been conscious when committing the crime. Guilty. But they haven’t studied sleep like I have. People have done far more complex things than sending WhatsApp messages while still technically asleep.”

Anna’s backstory gives readers a glimpse into her characterization and predicament. The juxtaposition of the conscious and unconscious is clear in Ben’s dissection of what Anna’s actions mean. Ben’s implied questioning of guilt also displays the theme of Defining and Pursuing Justice and prompts the central question about Anna’s verdict.

“Once upon a time I knew every small detail of [Kitty’s] life. Now it’s just the brushstrokes.”

This metaphor shows the father-daughter relationship has been lessened over time and separation, while also portraying Ben’s longing to be closer with Kitty. The fairy-tale language of “once upon a time” also links to the ongoing motif of fairy-tale symbols like Sleeping Beauty and Ben as a prince.

“Sleep makes us vulnerable.”

As a major theme, sleep is integral to the novel’s plot, and this line highlights how no one is immune from the requirement of sleep. Given Anna’s history with sleepwalking, she is especially vulnerable, and this line foreshadows her exploitation at the Farm.

“The average human being spends thirty-three years of their life asleep. The ancients thought of sleep as a kind of death. Poets have eulogized about sleep as a second life.”

Lola listens to this line from Ben’s lecture, which is repeated multiple times in the novel as a key fact. It displays the importance of sleep as necessary and relatable to everyone. Like Anna, Lola enjoys learning about sleep for research, and this is one of many facts that deepens her knowledge.

“The right words in the right order can confer immortality. They turn flesh-and-blood people into literary Olympians. Words are an elixir.”

Anna’s connection to writing is palpable in her metaphors. She believes in the power of the written word, as her identity and goals are centered on being a famous writer. This is a consistent character trait in her past and present, and in a narrative sense, in the inclusion of her journal as a storytelling device.

“Anna O, Sleeping Beauty, a figure of myth and reality.”

Anna is symbolically linked to Sleeping Beauty. Her characterization while asleep has been created by the media, online presences, and fans, making her a living myth. Ironically, she becomes famous first for being Sleeping Beauty, then as a writer, and she wants to reclaim her real self instead of acting in a fairy tale part.

“The past is fertile ground for novelists, historians and poets. But not for people trying to move on with their lives.”

Bloom’s internal thoughts while working with Patient X are fitting for her character; she’s wise, thoughtful, and methodical. Her idea portrays themes of mental health, moving forward, healing, and progress over dwelling on the past. This quote also places Bloom as opposite Anna’s character, as Anna is passionate about writing and uncovering the past.

“She is in there. Her brain is active. Her body is too. Only the link between her brain and her body, her mind and the rest of her, is faulty. A living death is so much worse than an actual death.”

The repeated element of a living death creates emotional depth and conflict for Anna and Ben. Anna is stuck in a comatose state between life and death, while Ben is trying to save her when the odds of her waking up are incredibly slim. “Living death” also has a poetic tone, adding a darker and more emotional context to what would otherwise be referred to as a coma.

“Every block of stone has a statue inside it.”

Anna quotes Michelangelo while she searches for the truth about Sally Turner. This line is apt for the context of her metaphorically chiseling to the truth of the matter. She believes a sculptor’s job is one of discovery, not creation, which echoes the underlying theme of searching for objective truth.

“Dr. Prince looks at her kindly. ‘There’s a strong possibility that in Anna’s mind the last four years never happened. For her it could still be 2019.’

Emily waits for it, a thought too gruesome to contemplate.

‘She may well think that Indira and Douglas are still alive.’”

The twist of Anna having amnesia is believable due to the mind being a powerful and mysterious place. Ben admits they can’t know everything about the mind, and this amnesia creates another obstacle for Anna to overcome. This also complicates Emily’s feelings about Anna’s waking. Emily dreads revisiting the moment of the murders and has moved on to a spiritual life free of this hurt.

“Youth only glows from a distance.”

Since he’s much older than Anna, Ben believes in this adage. Time moves quickly, and youth is so fleeting, that Ben believes growing older and wiser is preferable, in contrast to Anna, who has missed out on four years of her youth.

“The act of killing is one thing. Becoming a killer, an outcast, a pariah, is another. That only happens once. The soul-scarring.”

When Ben imagines Anna’s murder as he visits the Farm, he analyzes the shift between being an everyday person, then a killer and other identifiers. These terms define Anna and other murderers. The use of “soul-scarring” is an invented word by the author to convey Anna’s altered, traumatized character.

“I also keep returning to my suspect for Sally Turner’s biological child. The person @PatientX claims is behind all this. That, after all, is the crux of the matter. Everything, I feel, hinges on the identity of that person.”

This section offers a red herring for Anna’s research because Patient X is actually Sally’s child. Fitting the mystery genre, Patient X diverts Anna’s attention to incorrect answers. Still, Anna’s ideas correctly foreshadow the mystery converging on X, who is Clara, the real antagonist.

“She has done it. Just like they agreed. The pain is almost gone. The hurt of living.

Sleep beckons.”

When Harriet/Lola dies by suicide, she mentions “they,” and this term creates another layer of mystery and suspense. Harriet’s possible partner(s) in crime is unknown. Just like when Bloom dies, critical information is revealed in a character’s last moments with no clarification, leaving a clue to pursue.

“Harriet’s note is mysterious and cryptic, falling far short of the promised full confession. It tantalises, teases even, as if the full truth is still too secret to ever be completely known.”

Like the mystery genre itself, Harriet’s letter gives some hints and clues, but not enough to create a definitive answer. She offers enough information to clear Ben’s name, but readers may still be wondering about the identity of Patient X, why Harriet targeted Anna, etc.

“They won’t survive this. I will have my revenge on them all.

Anna the ditzy dreamer. The werewolf. The sleepwalker. Fraulein Anna O. No more episodes or chairs propped against locked bedroom doors.”

Anna’s once nonconfrontational, introverted, and fearful character is shifting into a bolder, angry woman. Her revenge is building, causing her to take action against those who wronged her, increasing the believability that she could have killed her friends consciously. She also mentions her symbolic counterpart Anna O. as inspiration to feed her dark feelings.

“They are equal-opportunity traitors. Indira hasn’t used Dad. Both are guilty. Dad had a choice and chose Indira over me. Not once, but time and time again. Lust over love.”

Anna’s dad’s betrayal and Indira’s double betrayal (selling the company and being Richard’s mistress) function as the final triggers to put Anna into distress. In her emotional turmoil facing conflict after conflict, Anna surges into the rising action and becomes capable of murder.

“How can I ever prove [Anna’s] guilt? How can anyone prove whether or not she meant to kill her two best friends? What is the line between unconscious desires and conscious, culpable intent?”

The book’s entire premise—particularly the theme of Defining and Pursuing Justice—is displayed in Ben’s questions. These dramatic questions maintain the suspense and forward momentum as the reader approaches the revealing of the truth at the end of the novel.

“Sins can’t be outrun forever.”

This line relates to Anna and her culpability. It further foreshadows Ben perhaps being the unexpected antagonist, since it’s from his point of view. In the conclusion, both Anna and Clara are the villains who prove Ben’s belief wrong; they both are not punished for their murders/sins.

“But, so far, there is nothing. I am still alive.

If only I can stay awake.

Sleep is danger.

Sleep is death.

Whatever happens, I must not close my eyes.”

Fear is ingrained in Anna’s character (as she fears sleep and what she is capable of while sleepwalking), as well as Ben’s when Anna comes for him. His anxiety is clear in the increasing tension. Blake’s choice to use short, staccato sentences naturally increases the suspense and plot momentum.

“False memory syndrome. Dissociative identity disorder. Psychogenic amnesia. Repressed memories. Can that really be true?”

Ben, because of his career in psychology, knows these disorders are real possibilities despite his knowledge of his own experiences, again suggesting The Complexities of the Human Mind. Anna making him question himself, leaves readers wondering about the truth as well.

“[Kitty] is the last face I remember. The years I won’t get to see. The triumphs and disasters, the boyfriends and partners, the children of her own, an entire span of human life. The rest means nothing. Only love like that survives us.

I wish I could hug KitKat for one last time. Say that my love for her is wider than the sky, deeper than the oceans.”

Ben’s love for his daughter creates empathy and connection as he dies. Ben is innocent, and it is important that he is seen in a positive light in his final moments. The metaphors are effective ways to show how deeply he loves Kitty.