The Life She Was Given

Uncovering the truth behind oppressive family secrets helps Lilly and Julia find themselves. As befits the Gothic genre, Mr. and Mrs. Blackwood keep multiple secrets from their daughter and granddaughter: Lilly’s albinism, Mr. Blackwood’s reasoning for locking her in the attic, Julia’s parentage, and Lilly’s fate. At formative periods of development from childhood to early adulthood, Lilly and Julia must confront secrets that have a profound impact on how they view themselves.

The secrets the Blackwoods keep from Lilly cause her to deeply question her worth. Because Coralline doesn’t explain albinism to Lilly (possibly because she doesn’t understand it herself, blaming Lilly’s appearance on the devil), forbids mirrors, and scolds her for looking at her own naked body, Lilly gets the wrong impression about her physical difference. After she hears her mother tell her father, “There’s nothing normal about what’s on the other side of that door” (8), Lilly internalizes the message that she is monstrous. The uncovering of this secret is literal—at the circus, Lilly finally sees herself for the first time and learns that she has a known condition called albinism. She realizes that while she looks different, she is not a monster, knowledge that is a relief but also devastating because her parents had lied to her.