49 pages • 1 hour read
The Last Mrs. Parrish
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Themes
Things Are Not as They Appear
To an outside observer, Daphne and Jackson Parrish have a perfect life. They seem to adore each other, they have a luxurious lifestyle of designer clothes and expensive residences, and they have two beautiful daughters. However, the reader quickly learns that their relationship is built on a foundation of abuse. Behind closed doors, Jackson physically, mentally, and emotionally assaults Daphne, then floods her with expensive gifts and kindness to keep her in a state of confusion. He turns his abuse to his daughters by belittling them and pitting them against each other, making them fight for his approval. Jackson controls every facet of their lives from calorie intake to what they read.
One of the main ironies of the novel is that Amber covets what she thinks they have and has no idea of the inner workings of the Parrish family. The disconnect between reality and appearance is what causes her to seduce Jackson in the first place, eventually condemning herself to a broken marriage filled with cruelty.
Amber hides her true self for most of the novel as she endeavors to gain access to the Parrish fortune. She utilizes her physical appearance to mask her true intentions, deceiving Jackson and nearly tricking Daphne. By exploiting Daphne’s sympathies and initially making herself appear unassuming, she inserts herself into the Parrish family. She draws on past deceits, having tried her plan on one previous occasion, to fill the role of a sister-like friend. Even while she purchases gifts and performs favors, she makes plans to oust Daphne and her daughters from Jackson’s life. Her emotional and physical trickery is one of the many forms of disguise that appear in the novel, but her subterfuge is revealed at the novel’s conclusion.
Daphne also masks herself throughout the book but for different reasons. When she learns the truth about Jackson and Amber, she alters her behaviors to accommodate their wishes, using them to achieve her ends. To Jackson, Daphne appears to be the subservient wife. To Amber, she seems discontented with her perfect life, complaining, and paranoid. Daphne is none of these things, and she uses their beliefs to her advantage. By fitting into prescribed roles like housewife and socialite, she allows the people around her to project thoughts, feelings, and opinions onto her. In reality, she is fighting for her life, searching for a way to escape with her children. Her eventual victory becomes possible because she is able to perpetuate then subvert other people’s beliefs about her.
The disconnect between appearances and reality reinforces the need to see things from alternate perspectives. By having Amber desire a life that is, in reality, a nightmare, the authors show the importance of not making assumptions about a person’s life or intentions.
Money Cannot Buy Happiness
Money is a central feature in The Last Mrs. Parrish as the novel is filled with characters grappling for wealth. Amber believes that money holds the solution to her problems, and if she had greater financial means she would be satisfied with her life. However, the events of the novel show that this belief is incorrect, and there is much more to happiness than riches.
Daphne and Jackson’s marriage is a clear example that money cannot bring love or true happiness to a person’s life. At the beginning of their relationship, Daphne is drawn to Jackson because of his kindness and difficult past. His wealth only becomes a factor when he makes extravagant purchases to compensate for his abuse and uses his money to establish himself as central to Daphne’s life. After the birth of their daughter, he further uses money to manipulate and abuse Daphne who associates his gifts with her entrapment, removing any possible enjoyment from the luxury around her. Jackson attempts to buy Daphne’s love and submission but is unsuccessful both because of his cruelties and the emptiness his money holds for Daphne. Daphne sees the money simply as a means to an end, as is evident when Jackson demands a divorce. The narrator notes, “She’d take the money for her children’s sake. Why should Amber have it all? No, she’d make sure that the settlement was generous, and then she’d grant him his quick divorce” (372). She recognizes that money will make her daughters’ lives easier, and she makes choices based on that fact. Daphne is happiest at the novel’s close when Jackson has been apprehended by law enforcement and she has a small, pleasant home with the people she loves.
This outcome is in sharp contrast to the fates awaiting Jackson and Amber. Jackson’s desire for financial gain outweighs his fear of repercussions. His exertion of control through money shows that he has little faith in his ability to make himself and others happy. He uses money to become powerful through the degradation of others but is dissatisfied with his life, as he constantly looks for things to be angry about. These factors contribute to his greed and the choices he makes to get more money, which involve breaking the law. Amber is similarly greedy. The novel centers on her greed, for her desire to take over the Parrish fortune serves as the engine of the plot. When the depth of her subterfuge is revealed following her marriage to Jackson, her life becomes nightmarish. Even with the luxuries she has access to, she experiences abuse, showing that money does not bring love and joy.
What Goes Around Comes Around
The Last Mrs. Parrish pits two cruel people with bad intentions against a character who desires to be a positive influence in the world. Daphne ultimately uses her intelligence, education, and moral code to seek justice against the people who have done her wrong, believing that she is making the world a better place in the process.
Jackson repeatedly harms Daphne’s physical, financial, and mental well-being by exerting abusive control over her life and actions. He falsifies documents to suggest that she is mentally ill, keeps track of her food intake, and frequently sexually assaults her. Daphne pretends to be complicit in his desires but is simply trying to survive and keep her daughters safe from harm. Eventually, Jackson’s abuses turn towards the girls, as he engages in psychological warfare to make them dislike each other and feel self-conscious. This abuse extends to Amber after her secret identity is revealed, as Jackson degrades and hurts her as punishment for her deceptions. Jackson’s confidence in his power and his mind prevents him from seeing that others are equally, if not more, capable as he is. This blindness allows Daphne both to exploit his desire for Amber and to communicate with Douglas in his office, leading to the FBI arresting Jackson for his crimes. Just as Daphne was entrapped for years, Jackson’s actions will result in his imprisonment. Although he will not be directly punished for how he harmed Daphne, he will be punished, satisfying the reader’s sense of justice.
Amber similarly faces the consequences of her actions. Her past crimes come to light at the novel’s conclusion when Daphne confronts her. Amber not only stole a missing woman’s identity and lied about a history of sexual trauma, but she also falsely accused a man of sexual assault and abandoned that man’s child when her mother discovered she had tampered with a juror. The dramatic irony of Amber committing crimes to take Daphne’s place is that Amber has no idea of the abuse Daphne experiences. When Amber ultimately experiences the same abuse, the narrator notes, “All she’d wanted was the life she deserved. It didn’t occur to her that she had gotten it” (395). Amber’s vindictiveness and cruelty do not protect her from abuse.
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