Content Warning: This section of the guide references domestic abuse.

Bruises are the first bald indication to the reader of the secret life that Claire Cook has been forced to endure for more than 10 years. In the opening chapter, amid the glamour and glitz of wealthy Manhattanites gathered to raise money for worthy causes, Claire Cook suddenly adjusts her elaborate designer scarf—not to make a fashion statement, but rather to hide the tell-tale purplish-green bruise on her arm, a remnant of a raging argument she had with her apparently picture-perfect husband two days earlier. It is not the first such mark he has left on her during their marriage; over the years, the bruises have come to mark “the progression of Rory’s rage across [her] skin” (7). Challenging a man as powerful as Rory Cook is not an option; what Claire is left with is applying makeup to the bruises and maintaining the status quo.

The bruises symbolize the dilemma of women entangled in an abusive relationship and The Corrosive Effects of Secrets. Like the hidden life she lives, the bruises are too easily covered up, rendering Claire’s life a terrifying charade.