Sarah Schatteleyn (Not-Sarah): The Parasite Who Wore Her Twin’s Face
Overview
Sarah Schatteleyn, as the reader first meets her, is the ailing twin sister of Lucy Goedhart. But the woman lying in the Zwartwater sickbed is not Sarah—at least, not entirely. A centuries-old parasitic entity, having survived by hibernating inside the bog woman Marianne, seized control of Sarah after she cut her hand on the bog woman’s teeth. The entity consumed Sarah’s consciousness and now inhabits her body, speaking with her voice and recalling her memories. Lucy comes to call this being Not-Sarah—a label that captures both its uncanny likeness to the original and its fundamental otherness.
Not-Sarah claims to be the keeper of Sarah’s memories and therefore is Sarah, a question the novel leaves deliberately ambiguous. The entity is a parasite of consciousness, not merely a vampire; it feeds on blood to sustain itself, but its primary act is the theft of identity. This character analysis draws on the text to distinguish what is explicitly stated about Not-Sarah from what is open to interpretation, helping readers understand her role as both antagonist and tragic figure.
Plot Role
Not-Sarah is the central supernatural threat and the catalyst for the novel’s moral dilemmas. Her emergence triggers Sarah’s initial illness—fever, vomiting, delusions of a hungry woman—and propels Lucy’s journey to Zwartwater. As the story unfolds, Not-Sarah’s needs force Lucy to confront impossible choices: how far will she go to keep the illusion of her sister alive?
Key plot events shaped by Not-Sarah:
- Sarah’s possession occurs off-page, revealed through Lucy’s discovery of Sarah’s deteriorating annotations in a book about ticks, where she scrawled “like the BOG WOMAN.”
- Biting Dr. Arthur when he tries to force her to eat normal food, revealing her blood appetite.
- Drinking Lucy’s blood from a teacup after Lucy bites through the rim, a pivotal moment that awakens Lucy’s horror.
- Murdering the maid Magda in a feeding frenzy, escalating the danger.
- Confronting Lucy with the truth of her possession in Chapter 17, explaining her origin as a tick-like parasite that ate Marianne’s organs to survive.
- Killing Michael and Arthur with Lucy’s help in Chapter 26, then drinking Michael’s blood and planning an escape with Lucy and Katje.
Not-Sarah’s arc moves from hidden invader to acknowledged partner in crime, culminating in a disappearance that leaves her fate ambiguous.
Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions
Not-Sarah’s primary motivation is survival through feeding. She repeatedly states she cannot eat normal food and is driven mad by hunger. This need leads her to manipulate, threaten, and kill. She also craves connection and fears abandonment—traits inherited from Sarah’s memories or genuine to her parasitic nature.
Traits demonstrated in the text:
| trait | evidence |
|---|---|
| Manipulative | In Chapter 17, she goads Lucy by calling her “disloyal, spineless, utterly weak” to provoke a reaction. |
| Intelligent | She correctly deduces Lucy’s secret love for Michael and uses it to hurt her. |
| Emotionally needy | After fighting, she pleads “Don’t leave. I didn’t mean what I said.” |
| Self-preserving | She agrees to starve rather than be discovered, but eventually demands Lucy help her kill. |
| Enjoyment of cruelty | When Michael dies, she “gleefully” drinks his blood and proposes to sink Arthur’s body in the bog. |
A key interpretive question: is Not-Sarah’s love for Lucy real or a tactical imitation? The text suggests she does feel something—her hurt at Lucy’s rejection seems genuine—but the author’s note in the Reading Group Guide invites readers to decide.
Chronological Arc
- Before the novel: Not-Sarah’s original host, Marianne, was staked in a bog by her husband JW, who believed her a changeling. The parasite hibernated inside Marianne’s corpse, eating her organs to survive.
- Sarah cuts her hand on the bog woman’s teeth while trying to remove a stone. The parasite enters Sarah’s bloodstream and begins consuming her consciousness.
- Lucy arrives at Zwartwater to find Sarah gravely ill. Not-Sarah remains hidden, acting as Sarah, but displays odd behaviors: not blinking when a fly lands on her eye, craving blood.
- Revelation: In Chapter 17, Lucy confronts Not-Sarah, who admits to being a parasite and explains her history. Lucy struggles to accept the truth.
- Escalation: Not-Sarah kills Magda. Lucy protects her from being sent to an asylum, negotiating with Arthur, then ultimately killing both Arthur and Michael to keep Not-Sarah alive.
- Resolution: The three women (Lucy, Not-Sarah, Katje) stage an elopement and disappear. A newspaper article reports them missing, suggesting the bog claimed them. Author Johanna van Veen speculates they might have toured Europe.
Not-Sarah’s arc is one of increasing dominance. She begins as a weak, bedridden patient and ends as a powerful predator who has absorbed Lucy into her world.
Relationships
Lucy Goedhart
Lucy is Not-Sarah’s primary caretaker, confidante, and eventually accomplice. Their relationship is a twisted version of the twin bond: Lucy loves the body and memories, but must ignore the parasite inside. Not-Sarah uses Lucy’s love as a shield. Lucy herself muses that “it was clever of that parasite, to use the love people held for the host as a defense mechanism.” Yet Lucy also acts out of genuine care, kissing Sarah’s head, weeping over her supposed corpse, and ultimately choosing to kill for her.
Katje
Sarah’s maid and lover, Katje is the first to accept Not-Sarah fully. She allows Not-Sarah to feed from her, even after Lucy warns it could kill her. Not-Sarah speaks of Katje with genuine affection, calling her “tremendously interesting” and “a fully realized person.” Katje’s willingness to sacrifice for Not-Sarah mirrors Lucy’s loyalty.
Michael Schatteleyn (Sarah’s husband)
Not-Sarah despises Michael. She reveals his infidelity with maids and his callous treatment of Sarah. In Chapter 26, she gleefully participates in his murder. The marriage was one of convenience: Not-Sarah admits she married him “out of fear of being left behind.”
Dr. Arthur Hoefnagel
Arthur is a friend to the family and Sarah’s doctor. Not-Sarah initially fears he will commit her to an asylum. She bites him when he tries to feed her, and later Lucy kills him to prevent him from taking Not-Sarah away.
Marianne (the bog woman)
Not-Sarah’s previous host. She ate Marianne’s organs to survive in the bog. This backstory explains the entity’s parasitic life cycle.
Key Decisions and Consequences
- Not-Sarah’s decision to attach to Sarah: The cut on the hand was an accident, but the parasite chose to enter and consume Sarah. Consequence: Sarah’s death and Not-Sarah’s continued existence.
- Not-Sarah’s decision to reveal herself to Lucy: She confesses in Chapter 17, knowing Lucy will be horrified but needing an ally. Consequence: Lucy becomes complicit in covering up the possession.
- Not-Sarah’s decision to kill Magda: A desperate feeding event that puts the household on alert. Consequence: Arthur and Michael plan to have her committed.
- Not-Sarah’s decision to accept Lucy’s help killing Michael and Arthur: She could have tried to escape alone, but she relies on Lucy’s love. Consequence: The three women flee together, leaving a trail of death.
Interpretation: Each decision is survival-driven, but Not-Sarah’s increasing reliance on Lucy suggests an emotional bond beyond pure utility.
Theme and Symbol Connections
Sisterhood and Codependency
The twin relationship is the novel’s emotional core. Not-Sarah exploits Lucy’s codependency—Lucy admits “having a parasite that had eaten her twin’s consciousness and wore her rotting corpse… was still infinitely better than having no sister at all.”
Madness and Social Control
Not-Sarah’s true nature is mistaken for insanity. Lucy fears Arthur will have her committed to an asylum, echoing the fate of Aunt Adelheid. The novel critiques how society labels troubling women as mad to silence them.
Parasitism and Identity
Not-Sarah functions as a literal parasite, but the metaphor extends to human relationships. Lucy’s love for her sister is parasitic in its neediness; Michael and Sarah’s marriage is parasitic. The Reading Group Guide asks whether Not-Sarah is “Sarah” despite the stolen memories.
Moral Compromise and Violence
Lucy’s murder of Michael and Arthur to protect Not-Sarah forces her to violate her own ethics. The novel asks: can love justify violence?
Female Desire and Agency
Not-Sarah embodies unfiltered desire—for blood, for freedom, for Katje. She rejects the confines of Victorian womanhood. Her escape with Lucy and Katje is a queer, transgressive ending.
5 Book-Specific Questions and Answers
1. Why did Lucy kill Michael and Arthur? Lucy killed Michael to prevent him from committing Not-Sarah to an asylum, and killed Arthur when he attempted to manipulate her into betraying Not-Sarah. Her actions were driven by love and a desperate desire to keep her sister—what remained of her—alive.
2. Is Not-Sarah really Sarah? The novel does not give a definitive answer. Not-Sarah claims that because she possesses Sarah’s memories, she is Sarah. Lucy struggles with this, at times believing her sister is gone, at other times treating Not-Sarah as Sarah. The Reading Group Guide explicitly asks readers to decide.
3. What made JW (Marianne’s husband) think Marianne was a changeling? JW suspected Marianne was a changeling because she exhibited strange behavior—likely the early effects of the parasite. He responded by staking her in a bog with a stone in her mouth, a folk method to prevent a changeling from returning.
4. What happened to Aunt Adelheid? Aunt Adelheid was taken to an asylum after she was deemed insane. Lucy’s parents sent her away, and Lucy later learns the asylum was a place of suffering. Aunt Adelheid’s fate serves as a warning to Lucy about how society disposes of inconvenient women.
5. Where do you think Lucy ends up after the ending? The ending is ambiguous. The final newspaper article suggests the women disappeared into the bog, but author Johanna van Veen imagines they might have toured Europe together, balancing safety and curiosity. Lucy’s loyalty to Not-Sarah likely keeps them bound together, traveling as a family of three.