51 pages • 1 hour read
Natasha PrestonThe Cellar
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Manipulation of Identity and Resistance Against Erasure of Self
Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses abuse; rape, sexual exploitation, and sexual assault; death by suicide; abduction; and graphic violence.
The fight to maintain her identity is at the heart of Summer’s internal conflict. She struggles under the burden of the name Clover gives her; she eventually finds thoughts of her friends and family, key parts of her former identity, difficult to bear, and she has trouble reconciling the two parts of her identity once she leaves the cellar. Summer’s reactions demonstrate the impact of the manipulation of identity as she resists the erasure of self.
Even before he forces her into the van in Chapter 1, Clover renames Summer “Lily.” Throughout literature, names are associated with power; for example, revealing one’s name may weaken the advantage one has over others; in the action of naming, the “namer” typically has authority over the “namee.” The other Flowers tell Summer to forget her given name and accept “Lily.” The deeper insinuation is that Summer must also forget her identity and craft a new one that appeases Clover. Summer initially resists this renaming, stubbornly correctly the other Flowers each time they say “Lily”; eventually, though, Summer begins to think of herself as Lily, even correcting the doctor who calls her “Summer” once she is rescued. Summer’s struggle with her name symbolizes how Clover manipulates her and shows her complex internal battle to keep her identity alive.
Summer’s identity as a daughter, sister, and girlfriend experiences a similar slide and difficult reboot. In the early days of her captivity, she clings to memories of Lewis, her parents, and Henry to bolster her spirits. After months of living in the cellar, however, she comes to view those relationships as a detriment, feeling she suffers most since the other Flowers have no close ties. After being rescued, however, Summer is emotionally distant from her family and Lewis; she wants only to see Rose, Poppy, and Violet. Summer will need time to accept their love and support fully and grow back into her identity as a girlfriend and family member rather than a girl Clover subjected to living in captivity with the ever-present threat of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse.
Finally, Summer cannot immediately reconcile her Lily side with her Summer side. Weeks after her rescue, she senses the dichotomy in her identity: “I felt like two people. Lily was the one that was hurt and abused. Summer was the person I went back to. […] How long would it be before Summer and Lily collided?” (342). Her interior monologue anticipates a painful reckoning between Lily and Summer with the connotation of “collided,” a trauma she acknowledges she must heal from through therapy and time. While Summer realizes that reconciling her cellar identity with any part of her previous life will be difficult, she indicates through her closeness to Lewis that she will work toward a return to her roles as a sister, daughter, and girlfriend.
The Dynamics of Power and Control in Abusive Situations
Clover’s irrational expectations and desires drive him to criminal actions in abducting young women and forcing them into prescribed roles as his family. He controls and physically, sexually, and emotionally abuses them, creating a deeply ironic situation in which he continually hurts those he proclaims to love. In the cellar, the dynamics of power and control define the relationship the Flowers have with their abuser.
Clover exerts control over every area of the young women’s lives once he persuades or forces each one into his vehicle. He takes their cell phones, determines what they wear, and provides all food. He delivers their books and movies, so any diversion they seek is under his control as well. The women have to ask for items they need or want, such as dress patterns and a replacement spoon when theirs breaks, since they are locked securely away. This extensive control over simple daily choices robs the Flowers of individual identity and erodes their spirit and hope.
Worse, fear and abuse are the strongest tools Clover uses to maintain power. He forces the Flowers to watch as he murders several sex workers, and he thinks little of killing Violet (Jennifer). He forces the trapped women to clean up after his crimes in the cellar. With such an immoral criminal holding them, they become too fearful to attempt escape. They are also too fearful to fight back when Clover sexually assaults them, which contributes to the vicious circle of control and submission; for example, Summer has no choice but to allow Clover to rape her, but later she feels more hopeless because she did not fight back.
Because of these tactics of control and power, the women must use passivity to survive. The dynamic is unchanging until Jennifer and Layal try unsuccessfully to overpower Clover. When Summer finally asserts control, she does so by undermining Clover’s rationale for his crimes; she screams that they are not his family. Combined with his growing desperate mindset and paranoia about getting caught, these words rob Clover of power just long enough for Summer to attack him physically, and that distraction likely saves her life. Ultimately, Clover’s controlling tactics, fear-inducing crimes, and abusive behavior come undone when the existing dynamic turns in Summer’s favor.
Resilience in the Face of Dire Circumstances
While The Cellar represents the dark acts humans can commit against one another, certain characters in the novel rise above that darkness by fighting back. Violet (both Jennifer and Layal), Summer, and Lewis best represent this idea of resistance. Each character contends with Clover’s crimes differently, but each demonstrates a similar emotional toughness that influences their actions, revealing how the resilience of the human spirit opposes dire circumstances.
When Jennifer initially sees Summer’s youth, she speaks out against Clover’s actions: “You’ve gone too far this time” (19). Threatened by Clover, she backs down; however, after continued weeks of Clover’s abuse, she takes a stand and attempts to overpower him by hitting him with a pan. Similarly, Layal attempts to best Clover physically by hitting him with a vase, showing that her spirit cannot be easily cowed by Clover’s abuse. Clover reacts to Jennifer’s attack by stabbing her and to Layal’s by physically assaulting her; each young woman’s spirited fight, however, inspires Summer.
Summer’s spirit deserts her after months in the cellar; she finds little hope in the chances of escape, and even the thought of Lewis and her family becomes painful. This lasts until Clover’s paranoia becomes evident; a turning point for Summer occurs when Clover sputters Lewis’s name in a fury, to which Summer reacts with concern, demonstrating that her love for Lewis is alive: “What’s he done? What are you going to do?” (278). When Summer realizes Clover intends to kill each Flower, her spirit, buoyed by Layal’s and Jennifer’s previous resistance, surges in strength. Summer finally rejects being in Clover’s “family” and strikes out against him, interrupting his attack until rescuers arrive. She shows additional resilience in accepting that the rift in her identity will take time to heal.
Unlike Summer, Layal, and Jennifer, Lewis is not directly subjected to Clover’s abuse and thus can act on his resilience continuously. Throughout Summer’s disappearance, he never wavers in his belief that she is alive. He counters the dire discoveries of her lost cell phone and the bodies of other victims with his strong spirit, always starting each day with a renewed search. He doggedly turns the case toward Colin Brown even when his brother and Walsh initially do not believe his suspicions; his perseverance and courage in searching Brown’s house are key factors that lead to Summer’s rescue. Thanks to Lewis’s strong faith, Jennifer and Layal’s acts of resistance, and Summer’s resilient spirit, Summer overcomes her dire circumstances and looks toward healing by the novel’s end.
