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Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
Amy’s Treasure Hunt
The treasure hunt Amy organizes annually for Nick on their anniversary symbolizes all the other manipulative games within their marriage. It’s also a reflection of how much more in control Amy is than Nick, and how much more she knows than he realizes. Although it started as a romantic tradition, as their marriage deteriorates it becomes a tool for Amy to control and test Nick. When she discovers his affair, she makes it the centerpiece of her ultimate manipulation, using the hunt to frame him for her murder. The intricacy of the hunt is also useful in that it’s not something the average person would be able to execute. If Nick tries to come clean about Amy’s scheming, the treasure hunt story seems too coincidental to be true.
Amy’s Diary
Amy’s diary is not really a diary at all: it’s a planted piece of evidence she creates to frame Nick as an abuser with a violent temper. It’s also related to the novel’s motif of storytelling, as the distorted version of the Dunne marriage and of Amy’s life in the diary becomes hard “evidence” of a motive in Nick’s alleged crime. It symbolizes the way narratives can shape reality, and sometimes even actually replace it. Just as Amy’s life was dictated by the fictional adventures of “Amazing Amy,” Nick’s life is forever changed by the misadventures of “Diary Amy.” Both protagonists end up having to deal with the fallout from the choices of characters they did not write.
Punch and Judy
The Punch and Judy puppets Amy hides from Nick during the treasure hunt are an analogy for the violent and manipulative dynamics of their marriage. Traditionally, “Punch and Judy Shows” are used in British puppet theatre based on the Italian Commedia Dell’Arte. The story always involves Punch abusing his wife Judy and their baby, eventually gleefully killing her. Amy gives a set of these puppets to Nick with the final clue of the treasure hunt as a way of gloating about her cleverness. She puts the cherry on top of this by removing the handle of the Judy puppet and daubing it with her own blood, so it looks as though Nick used it as the murder weapon when he killed her. “Punch and Judy” is supposed to be funny for the children who watch it, but the story is not fun for the characters themselves, and their fates are shockingly grim. By giving these puppets to Nick, Amy is making a sly comment on both her ability to watch his life fall apart from the sidelines and his inability to stop it; he’s her “puppet.”
