Chapter 7 Summary and Analysis
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
The chapter opens with Mirabelle disoriented at an opulent party in a grand hall, holding a flute of red champagne etched with the words La Maison de Méduse. She recognizes the space as a spa, noting signs for Signature Rituals and Voyages Merveilleux, and spots a boutique stocked with red jars identical to those in her mother's apartment. She concludes this must be her mother's secret spa.
An older woman in a white suit approaches, speaking cryptically about the Journey and asking whether it was painful or beautiful. She tells Mirabelle she envies her before vanishing into the crowd. The woman in red from the funeral summons Mirabelle to the staircase landing, where she is flanked by two veiled figures who resemble twins. Mirabelle struggles to climb the stairs, tripping repeatedly as if the steps are resisting her.
On the landing, the twins pull aside their veils, revealing faces that recall Christine and Sebastian Whyte, the goth siblings Mirabelle slept with in college. The woman in red traces Mirabelle's forehead scar, and the twins call her Daughter of Noelle, saying they know much about her. They invite her to meet someone important to her mother, but Mirabelle declines, citing her need to return to Montreal. The woman in red mentions the Depths, and the twins escort her down to a red-curtained stage.
The curtains part to reveal a vast aquarium filled with giant red jellyfish. Guests press against the warped glass, transfixed by idealized reflections of themselves. Mirabelle sees herself as beautiful, her scar and misery lines erased. Through a jellyfish, she glimpses the man from the hotel bar, his Victorian disguise briefly stripped away. She follows him down a dark hall, where he kisses her to hide from veiled figures carrying umbrellas. He tells her she is going the wrong way and departs, leaving her alone.
Key Events
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Mirabelle arrives at a mysterious spa-party and recognizes it as her mother's secret destination.
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A woman in a white suit speaks of the Journey and expresses envy before disappearing.
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The woman in red summons Mirabelle to the landing, where she meets the veiled twins.
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The twins reveal faces resembling Christine and Sebastian Whyte, Mirabelle's former college lovers.
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The woman in red traces Mirabelle's scar and the twins call her Daughter of Noelle.
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Mirabelle declines an invitation to meet someone important to her mother, citing her return to Montreal.
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The twins lead her to the aquarium of red jellyfish, where guests gaze at idealized reflections.
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Mirabelle sees the hotel bar man through the glass, his disguise momentarily stripped.
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She follows him down a dark hall; he kisses her to evade veiled figures and tells her she is going the wrong way.
Character Development
Mirabelle's grief is palpable throughout the chapter. She is drawn to the spa because it reminds her of her mother, yet she remains uncertain about what the place truly is. Her internal monologue reveals a woman who has been isolated, living alone in Montreal, watching skincare videos until she falls asleep. The flashback to Christine and Sebastian Whyte deepens this portrait: Christine called Mirabelle tainted after learning she had slept with both siblings, a wound that still burns. When the twins stroke her face, Mirabelle almost whispers the question Am I really tainted?, showing how unresolved that rejection remains.
Her scar becomes a focal point. The woman in red traces it, and the twins gaze at it reverentially, suggesting it holds significance beyond a childhood accident. Mirabelle's own account—that her mother dismissed it with You fell—leaves the scar's origin ambiguous, hinting at buried trauma.
The man in the hat emerges as a counterpoint to the spa's eerie perfection. His grip is warm and of this world, unlike the twins' silky, cool touch. His kiss startles Mirabelle's body, which has been holding itself tight and away. In his gray eyes she sees the Saint Lawrence River, a vision of home that contrasts with the emptiness she feels when she says the word.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
The Journey and the Abyss. The spa's language frames self-care as a ritual journey, with the woman in red calling it our only escape from the Abyss. This suggests the spa offers transcendence from grief or mortality, but the chapter undercuts that promise: the Journey seems to require surrender, and the Abyss remains an ever-present threat.
Reflection and the Idealized Self. The aquarium's warped glass shows guests their own faces transformed—younger, smoother, more beautiful. Mirabelle sees herself as a film heroine, her scar and misery lines gone. The reflections represent the seductive promise of self-improvement, but the guests' gasping, tearful reactions suggest the vision is fleeting and painful.
Disguise and Identity. The man in the hat wears a Victorian beard, mustache, and spectacles that Mirabelle recognizes as a disguise. The twins wear veils, and the woman in red appears and disappears like a figure from a dream. Even Mirabelle's own reflection is a kind of mask, hiding her true self.
Red as a Motif. Red pervades the chapter: the champagne, the chandelier, the curtains, the jellyfish, the jars. Red suggests blood, passion, and the mother's presence, but also danger—the woman in the white suit wears a ruby choker that makes her look like she is bleeding from the throat.
Home and Displacement. Mirabelle's description of home is hollow: a one-room apartment, bottles and jars lining the walls, a narrow bed. When she says the word home, it rips in her throat. The man in the hat tells her she is going the wrong way, implying that her true destination is not Montreal but something she has yet to find.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter deepens the novel's central mystery. The spa is revealed as a place where guests seek transformation, but its methods and purpose remain opaque. The woman in red's intimate knowledge of Noelle, the twins' resemblance to Mirabelle's past lovers, and the man in the hat's disguise all suggest that Mirabelle is being drawn into a world that knows her better than she knows herself.
The chapter also establishes the emotional stakes. Mirabelle's grief for her mother, her unresolved shame about Christine and Sebastian, and her loneliness in Montreal all converge here. The aquarium scene, with its idealized reflections, dramatizes the novel's critique of beauty culture: the promise of perfection is intoxicating, but it requires erasing the self.
Finally, the man in the hat introduces a potential ally or antagonist. His warning that Mirabelle is going the wrong way, and his kiss, create a tension that will likely drive the next chapters.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Mirabelle struggle to climb the stairs to the landing?
The stairs resist her, making her trip repeatedly as if the ground is turning to mud. This dreamlike difficulty suggests the spa is not an ordinary place—it operates by its own rules, and Mirabelle's body is reacting to forces she does not understand. It also foreshadows her ambivalence: part of her wants to join the woman in red, but part of her senses danger.
2. What does the aquarium scene reveal about the spa's appeal?
The aquarium offers guests a vision of their idealized selves—younger, smoother, more beautiful. The warped glass distorts their reflections, but the guests are transfixed, gasping and crying. This reveals that the spa's power lies in its ability to sell transformation, even if the transformation is only an illusion. Mirabelle's own reaction—tears glistening behind her shining eyes—shows how deeply she craves that vision.
3. Why does the man in the hat kiss Mirabelle?
He kisses her to hide from the veiled figures gliding down the hall, using the embrace as cover. But the kiss also has a personal effect: it startles Mirabelle's body, which has been holding itself tight and away. His touch is warm and of this world, contrasting with the twins' silky, cool hands. The kiss suggests he may be protecting her, or using her, or both.
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