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Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text's major themes.
Shocking Acts of Violence
In Pieces of Her, normal, everyday situations are repeatedly interrupted by shocking and unpredictable acts of violence that disturb the status quo. These surprising incidents serve as reminders of the unpredictable nature of life. On her 31st birthday, for example, Andy is preoccupied with mundane anxieties as she celebrates with her mother at a local diner. As her mother has a polite but boring conversation with the family of a former patient, Andy dwells upon her unsatisfying job and her own lack of personal motivation. These reflections are abruptly ended by a hail of bullets. When Jonah Helsinger, dressed like a cowboy, enters the diner and shoots two customers, Andy freezes, unable to make sense of what is happening around her.
This is just one of many similar events that occur throughout the novel. In the subplot set in 1986, an otherwise ordinary economics conference in Oslo is brought to a quick end by a murder-suicide. Laura Juneau, disguised as Professor Alexandra Maplecroft, shoots another panelist, Martin Queller, during their panel before turning the gun upon herself. This shocking incident was itself sparked by a violent event in the past. Earlier, Laura Juneau was married to a man named Robert, who began to suffer from mental illness after being injured in a workplace accident. One day, while Laura was going about her daily schedule at her home in California, Robert arrived home. He then proceeded to shoot their children, killing them, before injuring Laura and then killing himself. Laura later blames Martin for the deaths of her children, as Robert was refused treatment at a healthcare facility owned by Martin. Whether or not Laura’s actions in Oslo were justified, the cause-and-effect relationship between these two horrifying and unexpected events suggests that violence produces more violence.
Inner Peace
Throughout the novel, various characters make difficult choices that nevertheless bring them a sense of peace. The inner tranquility experienced in these moments suggests that the character feels that their actions are truly aligned with their values and goals. In Oslo, Jane Queller is highly anxious. Though she has agreed to the plan to publicly humiliate her father, Martin Queller, she begins to doubt her actions when she considers all of the possible consequences of this act. She speaks to Laura Juneau, who also plays a pivotal role in the plan, and is impressed by the older woman’s sense of self-assurance. Later, when Laura Juneau shoots Martin at the conference, which was not a part of the original plan, Jane is struck by the expression on Laura’s face. As she pulls a gun out of her purse and pulls the trigger, Laura’s face reflects a sense of absolute tranquility. To Jane, this suggests that Laura had no doubts about her actions, whether or not they were morally justified. Later, when Jane decides to desert the Army of the Changing World to take care of her brother Andrew in his dying moments, Jane feels a similar sense of inner peace. Although she, unlike Laura, chooses a non-violent approach, both characters feel that they are making the right choice.
Musical Performance and Improvisation
A celebrated concert pianist, Jane Queller plays in some of the most prestigious concert halls in the world. She spends most of her childhood and adolescence practicing under accomplished teachers and attains a high degree of success as a young adult, though she fixates on minor errors that others do not catch. Given the amount of time and effort she has invested in refining her abilities, many are surprised when Jane announces her early retirement. Though she claims that she quit because of the “glass ceiling” imposed on female musicians, she later admits that she quit at the urging of her boyfriend, Nick. Jane’s relationship to the piano and to classical music is complicated. She is pressured by her abusive father Martin into grueling training sessions to meet his impossibly high standards, and she is then pressured to abandon music by the equally abusive Nick. Her entire relationship to music, then, is mediated by domineering male figures.
Still, Jane feels a close connection to music, losing herself when she is onstage. While she believes that the performance of classical music emphasizes control and discipline, she later comes to love jazz music, which in contrast highlights improvisation, feeling, and audience feedback. Jazz offers Jane a greater sense of freedom and self-discovery. Though she is forced to stop playing the piano completely when she enters the Witness Protection Program and assumes the name Laura, she finds herself in front of a piano in a highly unlikely place. At a federal prison in Maryland, a much older Nick pressures her to play the piano in order to prevent their conversation from being listened to or recorded. Rather than playing music from her past, Jane decides to play a song that she knows Andy enjoys, reflecting her new priorities.
