Invisibility as Marginalization: Alice Sun’s Supernatural Mirror of Social Erasure

Ann Liang’s If You Could See the Sun turns a familiar supernatural trope into a sharp critique of class privilege and systemic inequality. The novel’s central thematic claim is that Alice’s physical invisibility is a literal manifestation of the social erasure she experiences as a poor scholarship student at Airington International Boarding School. Her body disappears at the very moments when she feels herself to be unseen, unvalued, or interchangeable—transforming a metaphor for marginalization into a concrete, often terrifying reality. By tracing this theme across the plot, character arcs, and key symbols, Liang reveals how invisibility can be both a curse imposed by an unequal system and, paradoxically, a tool for survival.

The Birth of Invisibility: A Crisis of Belonging

The first episode of invisibility occurs immediately after the Top Achiever Awards ceremony in Chapter 1. Alice has just tied with her rival Henry Li, and in the aftermath she feels the cold seep into her body. Looking at a reflective glass door, she sees the courtyard perfectly except for her own absent reflection. This moment is not random; it follows directly from her parents’ revelation that they can no longer afford Airington and plan to send her to a cheaper school. Alice’s identity—her sense of mattering—is tied to her place at this elite institution. The threat of losing that place triggers an erasure of the self she has built.

Liang frames this as both a psychological and social phenomenon. Alice’s invisibility recurs when she is reminded of her outsider status: in Chinese class, where she struggles to express herself; at a restaurant that denies her entry because she lacks a VIP membership; and during a crucial task when she finds herself warm and visible while standing close to Henry—a moment of connection that briefly suspends her marginalization. The pattern underscores that invisibility is not arbitrary; it is the physical cost of feeling unseen in a world that equates worth with wealth.

The Double-Edged Curse: Exploitation and Empowerment

Alice’s invisibility initially deepens her isolation. She hides in bathroom stalls, misses classes, and fears that teachers will report her absences to her parents. Yet the Beijing Ghost app transforms her curse into a commodity. Clients hire her to spy, sabotage, and blackmail—tasks her invisibility makes possible. The app is itself a symbol of systemic inequality: it thrives on secrets among the wealthy elite, and Alice, who is invisible to them socially, becomes visible only as a tool.

This contradiction is the heart of the theme. Invisibility as marginalization both harms and enables Alice. She earns money to pay her tuition, yet the app locks her into a cycle of ethical compromise. Her power is contingent on remaining unseen—a double bind that mirrors the real-world dilemma of marginalized people who must make themselves legible to power structures in order to survive. The app’s anonymous warning, which Alice finds while researching her condition, hints that others have walked this path; her situation is not unique but symptomatic.

In Chapter 11, when Alice tries to turn invisible to complete a task but cannot, she realizes that her powers are unreliable when she feels connected to Henry. That night, she abandons the mission to play with a toy disk in a night market, and later struggles to explain to her client why she failed. The moment reveals that invisibility fails her when she is seen—truly noticed by another person. Connection temporarily undoes marginalization, but it is fleeting.

Confronting the System: The Climax of Visibility

The novel’s climax in Chapter 19 brings the theme to its sharpest point. Alice, still physically visible, lures Andrew to a conference room and threatens to expose his role in a kidnapping. When Henry Li, Chanel Cao, and school board representative Madam Yao arrive, Alice directly argues that systemic inequality at Airington forced her into crime. She reframes her invisibility—both literal and metaphorical—as a product of the school’s culture of privilege. Henry and Chanel leverage their own social capital to secure a fair review.

This scene inverts the power dynamics of invisibility. Alice vocalizes what the novel has shown all along: that the wealthy are oblivious to the struggles of scholarship students like her. Her invisibility was never a personal failing but a mirror held up to Airington’s indifference. By speaking out, she steps from the margins to the center, forcing the institution to acknowledge her existence. The school eventually decides to expel her, but the act of being heard is itself a form of visibility.

Character and Symbol Connections

Several characters serve as contrasting figures in the theme of invisibility. Xiaoyi is the first person Alice confides in. She offers no magic solution but tells Alice that “the self and society are like the sea and the sky—a change in one reflects a change in the other.” Her advice—to seize opportunity while the condition lasts—advocates agency within limitation. The bronze Buddha toothpick she retrieves from the statue is a symbol of hidden wisdom: the Buddha appears to offer nothing, but holds a simple tool inside. Alice must learn to see what others overlook.

Mr. Chen, her English teacher, later reveals that he too felt invisible as a young person. He advises Alice to “see herself”—to define her worth not through the eyes of Airington but through her own. This mentorship echoes Xiaoyi’s earlier counsel and links Alice’s personal journey to a broader generational experience of marginalization.

Rainie Lam represents the performance of visibility. She is a social media influencer whose life is curated for attention, yet Alice overhears her crying on the phone about a serious problem. Rainie dismisses it as acting practice, but the moment suggests that even the seemingly visible can feel unseen beneath their digital mask. The contrast deepens Alice’s understanding that visibility is not the same as being genuinely known.

The sunrise at the novel’s conclusion is the most hopeful symbol. After Alice and Henry plan a legitimate tutoring app and hold hands watching the dawn, the sun represents a new kind of visibility—not forced or commodified, but chosen and shared. The title “If You Could See the Sun” now reads as an invitation: if the world could see Alice for who she is, beyond her circumstances, she would not need to disappear.

Complexity and Contradiction

Liang refuses to reduce invisibility to a simple metaphor. Alice’s condition is both punishment and opportunity. It isolates her but also gives her agency. The app exploits her marginalization yet provides funds to stay at the school—a school that ultimately rejects her. The real contradiction lies in the system itself: Airington admits scholarship students to appear diverse but fails to support them, forcing them to fight for survival in hidden ways.

Alice’s final decision to rebrand the app as a study tool and write an article explaining her actions represents a partial resolution. She cannot dismantle the system alone, but she can choose how to use her experience. The invisibility, which began as a symptom of erasure, becomes a lens through which she sees the flaws in her world and, finally, a source of insight rather than shame.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does Alice’s first experience of invisibility relate to her fear of leaving Airington?
   Answer: Alice turns invisible immediately after learning her parents cannot pay tuition and after the awards ceremony ties her self-worth to academic success. The invisibility manifests at the moment she feels her place at the school—and thus her identity—is in jeopardy, making her literally disappear.

2. What role does Henry play in the development of this theme?
   Answer: Henry is initially a rival who embodies the privilege Alice lacks, but he becomes a confidant and ally. He helps her test her powers, join the Beijing Ghost app, and later leverage his social capital to advocate for her at the school board hearing. His evolving perspective—from ignorance to apology for not noticing her struggles—illustrates how the privileged can become agents of change.

3. Why does Alice’s invisibility fail her when she is with Henry at the night market?
   Answer: The failure occurs because Alice feels truly seen and connected to Henry. Her invisibility is tied to marginalization; when she experiences belonging—playing, laughing, competing—she cannot activate the power. This suggests that invisibility is not purely a superpower but a reaction to social erasure.

4. What does the Beijing Ghost app symbolize in the context of marginalization?
   Answer: The app symbolizes how systems of inequality commodify the vulnerabilities of the oppressed. Alice’s invisibility becomes a service for the wealthy, who pay her to spy or blackmail. The app turns her marginalization into a product, reinforcing the very power structures that erase her.

5. How does Mr. Chen’s revelation about his own invisibility change Alice’s perspective?
   Answer: Mr. Chen tells Alice he once felt invisible too, normalizing her experience and showing it is not unique to her. His advice to “see herself” encourages Alice to define her worth internally rather than through Airington’s approval. This mentorship helps her move from shame to acceptance.