The Strip of Lace: A Symbol of Violation and Justice in The Frozen River

Overview

In Ariel Lawhon’s The Frozen River, the strip of lace torn from the hem of a woman’s shift functions as both a concrete piece of evidence and a layered symbol. The lace first appears in the opening mystery—a dead man floating in the Kennebec River with his hair tied by that very strip—and later resurfaces as a trophy of sexual assault, a motive for murder, and a silent witness to trauma. Through its recurrence, the lace ties together the novel’s exploration of gender and medical authority, vigilante justice, and the hidden violence that binds a community.

The Literal Object and Its Recurrence

The strip of lace is a narrow piece of fabric torn from the lower hem of a woman’s underdress or shift. Joshua Burgess rips it from Rebecca Foster during her rape, then uses it to tie back his own hair. In Chapter 2, the dead man (later identified as Burgess) is found in the river with “a strip of lace” binding his hair, a detail that marks him as both reckless and cruel. The narrator notes that “wars have been fought over less,” signaling the object’s power to provoke violence.

Later, Martha Ballard discovers a matching strip of lace in Burgess’s saddlebag when she searches his belongings (Chapter 54). This second piece confirms Rebecca’s account. Even later, Martha spots a third piece of lace in the pocket of Sam Dawin (Chapter 59). Sam explains that Burgess tore that lace from his daughter May during a similar assault. The lace thus appears three times: on the rapist’s own body, in his private effects, and in the possession of a grieving father.

Character Connections

The lace forges a direct link between three central characters and their responses to sexual violence.

• Rebecca Foster: For Rebecca, the lace is a permanent reminder of her violation. She describes how Burgess “tore a strip of lace from her hem” and “tied his hair back with it.” The object embodies the theft of her dignity and autonomy. Rebecca’s inability to confront the lace—or the child conceived in rape—drives her later refusal to nurse the baby, a decision that forces Martha to intervene.
• May Dawin: May is a second victim of the same man. Her father, Sam, finds her weeping in a barn after Burgess assaults her and takes the same kind of trophy. The lace in Sam’s pocket proves that the predatory pattern extends beyond one household. May never speaks publicly about the assault; the lace becomes her silent testimony.
• Sam Dawin: Sam keeps the lace as a bitter keepsake. He confesses to Martha that he killed Burgess because “I had no interest in letting it play out in a court of law.” To him, the lace justifies his vigilante act. He burns the rope used for the hanging but keeps the lace—a threat and a promise that he will protect his daughter.
• Martha Ballard: Martha first sees the lace as a clue, then as corroboration of Rebecca’s story. When she later notices the strip in Sam’s pocket, her midwife’s instincts connect the pieces. She does not report Sam to the law, choosing instead to let the matter rest once she confirms that her son Cyrus had no role in Burgess’s death.

Thematic Significance

The lace weaves through several of the novel’s core themes.

Gender and Medical Authority

Martha’s ability to interpret the lace’s significance stems from her role as a midwife. She has access to women’s bodies and secrets that men like Judge North or Dr. Page do not. Where the legal system demands formal testimony, Martha reads the lace as a material truth. Her expertise—rooted in her decades of attending births and examining clothing for signs of labor or violence—gives her the authority to see what others dismiss. This aligns with the novel’s exploration of gender and medical authority, where women’s knowledge often proves more reliable than court proceedings.

Justice and Vigilante Retribution

The lace becomes the pretext for extra-legal justice. Sam Dawin’s murder of Burgess is a direct response to the lace as a trophy. He states that the court acquitted Joseph North in a similar case, and he refuses to trust the system again. The lace thus highlights the failure of 18th-century courts to protect women. Martha’s decision to conceal Sam’s guilt reflects the novel’s ambivalent stance on justice and vigilante retribution—she neither condemns nor endorses Sam’s action but chooses mercy over rigid law.

Community Secrets and Gossip

The lace circulates in silence. Only Martha, Rebecca, Sam, and May know its full story. The community gossips about Burgess’s death and the Foster trial, but the lace remains a private piece of evidence. Its existence underscores how community secrets and gossip both conceal and protect: the shame attached to sexual assault keeps victims quiet, while the same secrecy allows a father to take justice into his own hands without detection.

Trauma and Survival

For both Rebecca and May, the lace is a tangible link to their trauma. Rebecca cannot bear to see it; she throws the tin containing herbs for abortion into the fire. May vanishes from the narrative after the assault, her trauma implied. The lace endures even when the women try to forget. Yet Martha’s final decision to leave the whole story untold—burning the rope, accepting Sam’s confession—suggests that survival sometimes requires burying the evidence. This connects to the novel’s treatment of trauma and survival, where healing does not always involve public reckoning.

Marriage and Partnership

Ephraim Ballard supports Martha’s investigation without ever seeing the lace himself. Their marriage and partnership provides the stability Martha needs to pursue the truth. Sam Dawin’s love for his daughter also fuels his protective violence. The lace thus becomes a catalyst for both men to act—one through lawful support, the other through lethal revenge.

Shift in Meaning

Over the course of the novel, the strip of lace transforms in meaning:

Initially the lace signifies individual depravity. By the end, it represents a systemic problem: two women assaulted by the same man, two families shattered, and no satisfactory legal remedy. The lace remains a silent accusation that the community chooses not to prosecute.

Study Questions

1. How does the strip of lace function as both physical evidence and a symbol of misogynistic violence?
   Answer: The lace is a literal piece of a woman’s garment torn during rape, kept as a trophy by the rapist. It appears on Burgess’s corpse, in his saddlebag, and with Sam Dawin. As a symbol, it represents the treatment of women as objects to be claimed and the ease with which such violence is hidden. It also demonstrates how the legal system failed to use even this material proof, as Burgess was never tried for the assaults.

2. Why does Martha consider the lace crucial to solving Burgess’s murder?
   Answer: The lace provides the motive. When Martha sees a similar strip in Sam’s pocket, she realizes that Burgess assaulted two women. Sam confesses that he killed Burgess out of rage and lack of faith in the courts. The lace is the thread connecting the murder to the rapes, allowing Martha to understand that her son Cyrus is innocent.

3. Compare the responses of Rebecca Foster and May Dawin to having their lace taken. How does the lace illuminate their different coping strategies?
   Answer: Rebecca actively participates in a trial and eventually plans to leave Hallowell, but she cannot bear the child conceived in the rape and refuses to nurse it. May disappears from the story after the assault, never speaking publicly. Both women are silenced by shame, but Rebecca seeks a legal avenue while May relies on her father’s private vengeance. The lace itself—kept by the men in their lives—removes agency from both women.

4. In what way does the strip of lace challenge the legal system’s handling of rape cases?
   Answer: The lace is physical evidence that should have been used to convict Burgess, yet he remains free to assault May. Rebecca’s earlier case against Joseph North also ended in acquittal. Sam’s decision to kill Burgess rather than report him shows that the community believes the courts are ineffective. The lace thus critiques the inadequacy of legal protections for sexual assault victims in the 18th century and raises questions about when vigilante action becomes justified.

Further Exploration

To deepen your understanding of the novel’s world, explore the main book page or read about Martha Ballard, Ephraim Ballard, and Rebecca Foster. For related themes, see justice and vigilante retribution, gender and medical authority, and trauma and survival.