The Velveteen Rabbit Epigraph: Becoming Real in Danielle Steel's Joy
What Is the Velveteen Rabbit Epigraph?
In Danielle Steel’s Joy, the second chapter is an epigraph drawn directly from Margery Williams’s classic children’s book The Velveteen Rabbit. The selected passage features the Skin Horse explaining to the Rabbit what it means to become “Real.” According to the Skin Horse, Real is not a matter of materials or construction; it is a gradual process that happens “when a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you.” Becoming Real can be painful, it may leave the beloved object worn and shabby, but once Real, the creature is authentically beautiful—except to those who “do not understand.”
This epigraph stands alone between the front-matter list of the author’s works and the first narrative chapter. It is never quoted again in the supplied outline excerpts, yet its themes ripple through every major character arc, especially that of protagonist Allegra Dixon.
The Epigraph as a Roadmap for Allegra’s Journey
Although the epigraph itself does not recur as a direct quote, its core ideas—love, vulnerability, slow transformation, and the courage to become “Real” despite wear and tear—are mirrored in Allegra’s life from childhood to adulthood.
Allegra begins as an emotionally shabby child. At six, her mother Isabelle abandons her, and she is passed from cold grandparents to boarding school. She learns to be “invisible” to avoid rejection, holding her teddy bear George as her only comfort. The Skin Horse’s words that becoming Real “doesn’t happen all at once” and “takes a long time” perfectly describe Allegra’s decades-long process of building self-worth. Her first taste of genuine love comes at sixteen when she meets Shepherd Williams, a West Point cadet who becomes her true friend and later her husband. Through Shep’s steady affection, she begins to experience the kind of love that the Skin Horse describes—love that is patient and real.
Later, after Shep’s death (inferred from the narrative), Henry Platt offers her a different kind of love: mentorship and fatherly support. Henry’s love helps her heal further, much like the child’s love in the epigraph. When Henry dies, Allegra inherits his home and writes his biography, Ode to Joy, a tangible sign that she has internalized his lessons. The epigraph’s warning that becoming Real can be painful because “you don’t mind being hurt” resonates with Allegra’s willingness to grieve deeply yet continue to open her heart.
How the Meaning of “Real” Evolves
The Skin Horse says that once you are Real, “you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.” In the context of Joy, this suggests that Allegra’s broken past—the abandonment, the years of neglect—does not make her unworthy. Instead, it is precisely those experiences that allow her to become Real through love. The people who dismiss her (Isabelle, the cold grandparents) are the ones who “don’t understand.” Allegra’s journey toward self-acceptance and joy is a process of shedding the false belief that she is unlovable.
In the final chapter (Chapter 16), nine years after Henry’s death, Allegra has become a successful author but lives reclusively. When journalist Galen Fairchild reaches out, she hesitates but eventually agrees to dinner. Driving home after their first meeting, she realizes that Henry’s most precious legacy—joy—has resurfaced, and “when you added love to it, magic happened.” This moment mirrors the Skin Horse’s teaching: love and time have made Allegra Real, and she now embodies the joy she once thought lost.
Character and Theme Connections
Characters
- Allegra Dixon: The central figure who embodies the epigraph’s journey. From a neglected child to a woman who finds joy through love, she becomes Real by allowing herself to be loved by Shep, Henry, and eventually Galen.
- Shepherd Williams: He is the first person to love Allegra “REALLY loves you,” as the Skin Horse describes. His steady affection begins her transformation.
- Henry Platt: He provides a fatherly, unconditional love that continues Allegra’s healing. His death tests her ability to keep joy alive.
- Jordan Allen: He represents a false love—manipulative and self-serving. Allegra’s ability to end that relationship shows she has learned to value her own worth, a sign of being Real.
- Isabelle Vanderholt Dixon: The mother who cannot love; she is the “person who doesn’t understand” what Real means. Her neglect is the wound that Allegra must overcome.
- Galen Fairchild: He shares Allegra’s red hair and difficult childhood; their connection feels fated. He offers the possibility of new love that will not require Allegra to hide.
Themes
- Love and Healing: The epigraph directly ties love to the process of becoming whole. Every relationship that nurtures Allegra moves her closer to joy.
- Abandonment and Emotional Neglect: Allegra’s early years are defined by the absence of love. The epigraph implies that only sustained love can repair such damage.
- Self-Worth and Independence: Allegra’s growth in self-respect—especially when she rejects Jordan—aligns with the Skin Horse’s idea that Real creatures don’t mind being hurt because they know their value.
- Grief and Reinvention: The epigraph’s mention that becoming Real “takes a long time” mirrors Allegra’s long grief after losing Shep and Henry. Reinvention is a slow process.
- PTSD and the Cost of War: Although not directly in the epigraph, Shep’s service in Afghanistan and the stress it places on their relationship echoes the idea that real love endures hardship.
Study Questions and Answers
The following questions help readers analyze how the epigraph functions in the novel.
1. Why does Danielle Steel place the Velveteen Rabbit epigraph before the first narrative chapter? How does it prepare the reader for Allegra’s story?
Answer: The epigraph introduces the central metaphor of becoming Real through love before readers meet Allegra. It sets an expectation that the novel will explore a slow, painful transformation. When readers then witness Allegra’s abandonment at age six, the epigraph’s promise of eventual Realness offers a lens to view her suffering as a necessary part of growth rather than mere tragedy.
2. In what ways does Allegra’s relationship with Jordan Allen test the definition of “Real” love presented in the epigraph?
Answer: Jordan pursues Allegra and they have a brief affair after Henry’s funeral. He later reveals he is leaving for London, having kept this secret. Allegra recognizes that he manipulated her to “prove he could win her.” The Skin Horse says real love is sustained over a long time and leaves the beloved “worn and shabby” but beautiful. Jordan’s love is not sustained—it is transactional and brief. Allegra’s ability to end the relationship shows she now understands what real love is not.
3. How does the concept of being “invisible” conflict with the idea of becoming “Real” for Allegra?
Answer: As a child, Allegra learns to be invisible to avoid rejection—she makes no demands and stays in her room. The epigraph’s “Real” requires being seen and loved openly. To become Real, Allegra must risk visibility. Her journey involves moving from hiding to allowing Shep, Henry, and eventually Galen to truly see her. The Skin Horse’s warning that “people who don’t understand” will find you ugly if you are Real suggests that those who made her invisible are precisely the ones who cannot appreciate her true self.
4. The Skin Horse says that once you are Real, “you don’t mind being hurt.” How does Allegra demonstrate this attitude in the later chapters of the novel?
Answer: After Henry’s death, Allegra grieves but does not lose her capacity to love. She inherits his home and writes his biography, channeling pain into creativity. When Jordan betrays her, she feels foolish but not heartbroken, and she ends the relationship without collapsing. Nine years later, she agrees to meet Galen despite past hurts. Her resilience shows that she has internalized the Skin Horse’s lesson: loving deeply may bring pain, but that pain does not diminish her worth or her ability to experience joy.