The Jam That Binds: Fig Jam as a Symbol in Good Spirits

What Is the Fig Jam?

In Good Spirits, fig jam is a homemade preserve that appears first as a literal object in a childhood memory of Harriet York and later as a physical, sensory trigger for the ghost Nolan Callahan. It is sweet, sticky, and stubbornly imperfect—much like the connection forming between the two protagonists.

Where It Reappears

The motif recurs in three key scenes:

1. Chapter Nine (Nolan’s POV) – Harriet and Nolan return from a memory trip "covered in fig jam." The jar she grabbed from the past explodes during travel, coating them both. Nolan tastes the jam from her skin, experiencing a flavour for the first time in decades.
2. Chapter Eleven (Harriet’s POV) – Still smarting from Nolan’s harsh words, Harriet impulsively buys figs at the market and declares she will “make my own damn jam.” The act is a small act of defiance and self-reclamation.
3. Chapter Thirty-Eight (Nolan’s POV) – Isabella and Matilda reveal that the jam, along with other uncanny coincidences (the boat, the songs), was part of a larger design to bring Harriet and Nolan together. The jam is reframed as a purposeful thread, not an accident.

How Its Meaning Changes

Initially, the fig jam appears as a mundane, even frustrating mess. Nolan complains about the stickiness and the waste of time. But when he tastes it, the jam becomes a rare sensory bridge between his ghostly numbness and human memory. It is “the closest I’ve come to experiencing a flavor in decades”—a crack in his self-imposed apathy.

Later, Harriet’s decision to make her own jam signals a shift from passive hurt to active agency. She refuses to wait for Nolan’s apology; she will recreate the sweetness herself. The jam transforms from a symbol of loss (the childhood recipe she could never replicate) into one of resilience.

By the novel’s end, the jam is revealed as part of a cosmic plan. It is no longer accidental but evidence that the universe (or Isabella’s department) has been nudging them toward each other. The mess was always meaningful.

Character Connections

• Harriet York – For Harriet, the jam represents the love she craved as a child—the woman hired by her mother to make holiday jam stands in for the maternal warmth she never received. The lost recipe embodies her long search for belonging. When she decides to remake it herself, she reclaims a piece of her identity.
• Nolan Callahan – For Nolan, the jam breaks through his century of emotional and sensory deadness. Tasting it is the first real flavour he has experienced since drowning. It makes him want more—of the jam, of connection, of Harriet. The stickiness also mirrors the way Harriet clings to him (literally, in the closet) and how he finds himself unable to let go of her.
• Sasha – Though not directly connected to the jam, Sasha’s role in the memories (the woman in the catering uniform) and her commentary on unfinished business help contextualize why the jam matters. She is a link to the past where the jam originated.

Theme Connections

The fig jam touches all five major themes of the novel:

• Memory and Identity – The jam is a tangible piece of Harriet’s past that she lost and desperately wants back. Recovering it (or creating it anew) is part of understanding who she is outside her mother’s expectations.
• Redemption and Self-Acceptance – Nolan tasting the jam and accepting it—despite its mess—parallels his gradual acceptance of his own unfinished business and the possibility of happiness. Harriet’s jam-making is an act of self-worth.
• Love and Connection – The jam facilitates the most intimate physical touch between Harriet and Nolan before the novel’s climax. It is sweet, sticky, and imperfect—exactly like their love.
• Family Estrangement and Reconciliation – The jam recipe originated with a hired caterer, not Harriet’s mother. It symbolizes the emotional distance in the York family and the “hired” affection Harriet received.
• Unfinished Business – The jar Harriet steals from the past is literally unfinished—it breaks open. The jam becomes a metaphor for Nolan’s unfinished business (Harriet herself) and for Harriet’s unresolved longing for her childhood.

Study Questions

1. How does the fig jam scene in Chapter Nine reveal Nolan’s emotional isolation? Nolan’s initial irritation at the mess and his dismissal of the memory as “a waste of our time” show his defensiveness. Yet when he tastes the jam, his reaction is visceral: “I immediately want more.” This contradiction—pushing away connection while craving it—illustrates his century-long habit of denying hope. The jam acts as a bridge between his numbness and his buried human desires.

2. Why does Harriet decide to make her own fig jam in Chapter Eleven? Harriet buys figs and announces she will make her own jam after Nolan’s cruel outburst. The act is a small rebellion against being treated as dispensable. It also reclaims a piece of her past that her mother’s neglect tainted. By making the jam herself, she asserts agency: she will not depend on others (or on magic) for sweetness.

3. In what way does the jam function as evidence of a larger design? In Chapter Thirty-Eight, Isabella and Matilda reveal that the jar’s presence in the memory and Nolan’s ability to taste it were not accidental. The jam is one of several “uncanny coincidences” engineered to bring Harriet and Nolan together. This reframes the earlier mess as purposeful, suggesting that even sticky, imperfect moments can be part of a redemptive pattern.

4. How does the stickiness of the jam mirror Harriet and Nolan’s relationship? Every time they are covered in jam, they are physically pressed together—stuck. The jam resists easy cleaning, just as their connection refuses to be neatly resolved. It is sweet but messy, welcome but inconvenient. The stickiness symbolizes the way they cling to each other despite logical obstacles (ghost/human, past wounds, fear of moving on). Nolan’s line “Tastes good” after licking jam from Harriet’s chin echoes his growing attachment to her, even when he tries to resist.

Conclusion

The fig jam in Good Spirits is more than a sticky inconvenience. It is a layered symbol of lost childhood sweetness, sensory awakening, defiant self-love, and the beautiful mess of two people finding each other across the boundaries of life and death. Like the jam Harriet finally learns to make on her own terms, their love is earned, sticky, and worth every bit of effort.

For more on the characters and themes, explore the main book page or dive into redemption and self-acceptance.