The Life She Was Given

Blackwood Manor operates as a motif to explore Family Secrets and Their Impact on Identity because it is a physical representation of the atrocities Lilly experienced in the home and the setting in which Julia uncovers the truth about her family. A mysterious house full of confusing architecture and hidden rooms storing horrific secrets, Blackwood Manor is a trope from the Gothic genre.

Blackwood Manor contains the physical evidence of Lilly’s lived experience: mementos she left behind like her camera, photos, jewelry, and the stuffed elephant; the pictures and ticket stubs her father collected; and her preserved room in the attic, which still holds remnants of her childhood. These pieces of evidence are tangible representations of the abuse, neglect, and trauma she endured, making Blackwood Manor a repository of the family’s past and a way for Lilly to tell her story even after death.

The house also gives Julia a purpose—solving the mystery of her family and learning the truth about her parentage. When Julia pieces together the clues and convinces Claude to confess what he knows, she comes into her own as an adult free from the manor’s oppressive presence in her psyche.