Keep It in the Family

This complex theme is intricately woven throughout the novel, most notably in the toxic behaviors of Debbie and Finn. Debbie’s identity encapsulates the complex interplay between trauma, self-deception, and the impulse to “save” others, for she stubbornly casts her pattern of manipulation and murder as a noble attempt to protect others from suffering of one kind or another. Her traumatic past, which is marked by her parents’ abuse and manipulation, lays the groundwork for the development of her obsession with “saving” children by murdering them. Because her parents once used her as bait to acquire new murder victims, Debbie blames herself for leading innocent children to their deaths. She is also haunted by guilt for her childish betrayal of George, despite being too young at the time to fully comprehend the consequences of her actions.

In addition to blaming herself, Debbie also blames England’s social services system and the adults who failed to notice what was happening to her and George when they were children. She frequently kills children whom she perceives as being neglected by their parents and by social services, often thinking to herself, “If George and I had been on a register that people had paid attention to, then things might have turned out very differently for us” (112). By killing these neglected children, Debbie believes that she is saving them and reaching back into the past to save herself and George retroactively. No one saved Debbie and George from their parents, but when she removes other children from an uncaring world, Debbie finds a sense of catharsis by imagining how she and George would have felt if they were “rescued” in such a way.

Throughout the novel, Debbie’s dramatic psychological issues intersect with her ongoing self-deception. Her mind constructs a narrative in which she is the valiant savior and hero, and this misperception conveniently omits the darker truths of her actions and motivations. This self-deception therefore becomes a coping mechanism that shields Debbie from confronting the harsh reality of her deeds and their consequences. This approach also solidifies her belief in her own righteousness, further entrenching her fixation upon being the savior and reinforcing her identity as a “hero” in her own eyes.

Likewise, Finn also embodies his own version of these extreme psychological issues, for although he does not murder children, he does actively manipulate his loved ones, kill people whom he perceives as threats, and commit animal cruelty under the guise of protecting himself and his family. For example, when Finn secretly abducts and abandons Sonny’s dog, he believes that he is helping Sonny to develop a closer relationship with his parents, for the grief-stricken boy inevitably reaches out to Finn and Mia when his dog is lost. Finn’s behavior also intersects with his self-deception when he admits that he stole the dog because he wanted to make Sonny sad enough to need this form of comfort. Yet even this reason is a form of deception, and his real, selfish motivations are brought to light when he thinks, “Every time I walked, fed or petted that animal, it reminded me too much of Sonny’s life without his mum and dad. And I need us all to forget that period of his short life as soon as possible” (368). In Finn’s mind, he is saving his family by closing a painful chapter of their past and forcing everyone to draw closer together. However, Finn—like Debbie—is merely rationalizing his own cruel and selfish behavior.