Makeup
Maggie narrates, "You get ready that morning like someone preparing for war. Your war paint is makeup. A neutral, smoky eye. A heavy lash. Dark rose blush, and a nude lip. Your hair is loosely curled and huge." Makeup is contributory to amplifying Maggie's magnificence. It is an omnipresent accompaniment that makes her feel worthy and attractive. The application of makeup is analogous to readying oneself for war.
Death
Maggie explains, "Your father is dead. In August, he slit his wrists in a nearby cemetery. You used to talk to him about your dad, about the problems with your parents. He knew how one would go to pick up the other from a bar... Now you feel he'd understand, how you are worried about rain pattering on the ground above your dad. Is he getting wet down there, and wondering why you have left him in the cold, bucketing dark? Doesn't death supersede the stuff that happens in a courtroom? Doesn't death supersede all this other bullshit, even the cops and the lawyers? " Maggie is grieving her father. Although he was an alcoholic she adored him. Rain elicits her guilt because she feels that she is letting down her father by not covering him from the rain. Maggie realizes that the actuality of death is weightier than her current engagement that involves the police. The death makes her experience a loss that could never be mitigated even by her former lover.
Perfume
Taddeo writes, “She (Lina) applies perfume behind her ears, at the backs of the knees, and on the insides of her wrists, it’s a lemony floral scent evocative of beach house afternoons, of iced tea with mint leaves, and clean breezes." Lina stamps the perfume on strategic locations to impress Aidan on their date. She yearns to draw Aidan to her through the alluring smell of the perfume. She is clearly determined to win over Aidan.
Visibility
Taddeo writes, “Around this time, she hears that a friend of her older sister has a crush on her. It surprises her at the same time it does not. It’s as if suddenly, because of Aidan, she is visible to t6he world. She’s popular. She knew it could happen this way. She’d always known. That realization is not calming but the opposite.” Lina’s association with Aidan increases her popularity among their peers. Seemingly, Aidan’s act of seducing Lina is a validation of Lina’s appeal. Hence, if Aidan had not approached her, Lina’s sister’s friend would not have paid attention to her. Her feelings of visibility impact her self-esteem because it is evident that Aidan makes her visible; without him she would be obscure.
Mirror
Taddeo explains, “Lina doesn’t’ have dysmorphia. She doesn’t look in the mirror and see an ugly girl. She looks in the mirror and sees exactly what is there to see, wavy blond hair to her shoulders and gray-blue eyes and reddish skin that grow a little row of pimples along the hairline….But she’s not beautiful. For example if she were suddenly to become Aidan’s girlfriend, she could not imagine another boy saying, Man, Aidan’s chick is hot." The mirror offers a reflection of the surface beauty. Evidently, Lina cannot reflect her inner beauty in the mirror. She reckons that she is not extremely beautiful for her to appeal to the attention of other men. The mirror amplifies Lina's low self-esteem because it convinces her that she is not absolutely beautiful.
