The Consequences Of Lies And Deception In The Memory Keeper's Daughter

The theme of the novel, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards, is how lies and deception have lasting impacts that can affect people and create distance and loneliness. An example of this is when the secrets both Norah and David were hiding began to create space between them. “She’d had more than one affair over the years, he knew that, and her secrets, like his own, had grown up into a wall between them… But she had shed these selves like skins, and they lived together now like strangers in their vast house…” (Edwards 258). When David kept the secret of what had actually happened the night of Phoebe’s birth, he chose to lie to Norah. His actions had many consequences including losing Norah. These secrets drove them apart over the years,

David had tried so hard to give him everything. He had tried to be a good father. The lie had grown up between them like a rock, forcing them to grow oddly too, like trees twisting around a boulder” (Edwards 259). The distance between Norah and David made Paul feel lonely because he recognized that there was something driving them apart. He became unhappy and angry with his parents for the way they were acting, especially when he found out Norah was having multiple affairs. Paul was upset with Norah, but also upset with David for not acknowledging the distance and unhappiness between them. This shows how secrets have lasting impacts and can create distance and isolation. The secret of Phoebe’s birth not only impacted David, but the entire family. That secret created distance, distrust, and deception. This is shown throughout the novel, as we see the way the secret builds and complicates relationships. The title of this novel is The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, because the Memory Keeper was the name of the camera Norah bought David on their anniversary. After receiving this camera, David took photography up as a hobby, and used it to highlight the good moments, and use them to replace the lonely