The Quiet Tenant

This section of the novel includes the first of Cecilia’s chapters, through which the author depicts her unique impression of her father in a way that implies that his mask of normalcy is beginning to slip. Because “Rachel” has already revealed the depths of depravity to which Aidan has sunk, Cecilia’s chapters take on an emphatic sense of dramatic irony. Michallon has already firmly established that Aidan is sadistic and sociopathic, but his daughter expects him to display the full range of normal human emotions and thus finds herself perplexed by his lack of grief over her mother’s death. At this point in the novel, she simply cannot perceive the hidden ugliness behind his bland façade, for she has only her own limited experiences to draw upon. She is intuitive enough to realize that her father is Hiding Key Personality Traits, but as of yet, she has no inclination that he is lacking in empathy and has no real ability to experience the full range of human emotions, so her assessment of him reflects the innocence that is characteristic of a 13-year-old. Similarly, her reaction to Aidan’s flirtatious interactions with Emily indicate that she believes him guilty of no more than inappropriately seeking female companionship so soon after her mother’s death; the unspoken reality that he is in fact targeting his next murder victim naturally never occurs to her. Cecilia also does not realize that her father’s actions are primarily self-serving, even when they are masked as helpfulness or self-sacrifice. It is significant that in this moment of perceived isolation from her father, Cecilia begins to forge new connections with “Rachel,” and this pattern will only strengthen over time in accordance with the ongoing theme of Shared Empathy Between Women. Indeed, Aidan’s ignorance of this growing connection between “Rachel” and Cecilia will ultimately prove to be his downfall, and thus, Cecilia’s chapters take on a tone of oblique foreshadowing.

Because the author uses Cecilia’s limited perspective to convey information about Aidan, it must also be emphasized that the girl’s overall ignorance of the red flags that signal dangerous behavior render her an unreliable narrator at best. While “Rachel’s” perspective is starkly realistic in all its compelling detail, Cecilia can only convey what she has been led to believe. Thus, although she is “reliable” in the sense that she faithfully conveys her impressions without trying to hide them, her narrative must nonetheless be actively interpreted in order to discern the hidden meanings beneath the overt text. For example, it may indeed be true that Aidan’s parents are dead, but this is also the kind of lie that would prove helpful if Aidan did not want Caroline to learn unfavorable information about him during their early courtship. However, Cecilia’s account does confirm that Aidan is entirely unwilling to discuss his past, and by denying his daughter access to the details of his personal history, Aidan is in turn denying her access to her own history. Faced with so many unknowns and striving to navigate her own inner turmoil, Cecilia will continue to gain new confidence in voicing opinions that are contrary to Aidan’s, and she will also convey her mounting stubbornness and reluctance in situations that she perceives to be unfair. While these aspects of the relationship between Aiden and Cecilia are no different than the rocky interactions between any father struggling to raise a teenage daughter, Cecilia’s newfound rebelliousness complicates the fact that this particular father is concealing far worse secrets than the usual father would ever have. Not only does this dynamic reveal Aiden’s adeptness at Hiding Key Personality Traits, but it also emphasizes the everyman quality that the figure of the serial killer possesses. Ostensibly, Aiden does not exist outside the norm in any way, for he consciously strives to fit into the mainstream ideal of what people expect to see. He could be one’s neighbor, friend, or father, and in this way, he perfectly embodies The Omnipresent Threat of Danger that often pervades true crime fiction.