No One Can Know: A Novel

Daphne Palmer, 26 years old at the beginning of the present-day timeline, is one of the novel’s three point-of-view characters. Daphne has wheat-colored hair and blue eyes, suggesting that her biological father is her mother’s affair partner, Rick Hadley. Like her sisters Emma and JJ, Daphne experienced abuse at the hand of their parents. For instance, Irene deliberately triggered Daphne’s panic attacks to convince her that her asthma is in her head.

As an adult, Daphne undergoes a major physical and emotional transformation. The physical change represents Daphne’s self-acceptance. For example, as a child, Daphne is quiet, small, and skinny. As an adult, she lifts weights to gain muscle and cuts her hair short. For work, she provides care to terminal patients, travelling to their homes to be with them in their last days. She also walks dogs as a side job, using this position as a cover to keep tabs on Emma. She also stalks Emma, putting a tracking app on her phone while she is sleeping. Daphne’s obtrusive methods of protection for her sisters demonstrate the theme of The Complex Bonds of Sisterhood. Although other characters view her as odd, Daphne has an uncanny wisdom and sharp intelligence. She astutely gauges that Emma’s marriage is doomed and knows all her family’s secrets. She is also decisive, taking matters in her own hands to kill Randolph when she fears he may harm her and her sisters. Even when Daphne is estranged from her sisters, she keeps tabs on them through their social media accounts.

A complex, morally grey character, Daphne is responsible for all three deaths in the novel, as well as Hadley’s near-fatality. Despite this, the novel does not position Daphne as an antagonist. The author obscures her part in all the deaths until the book is ending, painting her actions as protecting herself and her sisters. Moreover, Daphne feels no guilt for the murders because she believes Randolph and Nathan deserved death and Irene was suffering and needed to be put out of her misery. At the end of the novel, Daphne is happy with Emma, JJ, and Wren, and the author suggests, via her thoughts on Hadley, that she would have no qualms about more murders to protect her family. The author provides an important insight into Daphne’s character when, as a child, she watches a poisoned rat suffering the throes of death. Although she does not derive pleasure from the rat’s pain, she watches the animal dispassionately. This echoes her businesslike and somewhat cold attitude toward death, foreshadowing her role in the various murders in the plot. When Randolph brings down a shovel on the animal’s head to “put it out of its misery” (200), the phrase sticks with Daphne, becoming her mantra. Daphne begins to view death as a way out of the misery of life. While Daphne’s tendency to protect her sisters at any cost is dangerous, the author also suggests she is intuitive and wise. For example, it is Daphne who discovers the flash drive and its contents, and Daphne who senses Nathan is the wrong partner for Emma.

The older sister of Emma and Daphne Palmer, JJ is the third point-of-view character in the novel. JJ is 32 years old at the start of the present timeline and lives with her girlfriend, Vic. Like Daphne, JJ transformed her appearance as an adult, representing her acceptance of herself. Though she dressed demurely as a teenager, reflecting her desire to avoid her parents’ anger, the adult JJ has tattoos and spiky hair and wears alternative clothing. She has also come out and is in a relationship with a woman. Though, as a teenager, Emma believed JJ’s golden-child persona was in competition with her sisters, the author reveals that the act is partly because of her dawning realization that she is attracted to women, a fact bound to enrage Randolph. JJ’s teenage act of obeying her parents until she left the house emphasizes the theme of The Domestic as a Dangerous Space.

JJ’s need for self-preservation can sometimes make her lose sight of others. For instance, though she knows Emma did not kill their parents, she does not reveal details that could save Emma, because those details would incriminate her. JJ’s tense relationship with Emma stems from Emma’s belief that JJ abandoned her and Daphne. However, the novel contextualizes JJ’s actions against her trauma and abuse, illustrating The Psychological Effects of Abuse and Trauma. JJ buries her memories of Irene’s suicide, believing that she may have murdered her parents. This leads her to leave home and to her early adulthood experiences with drug use. As the novel proceeds, JJ’s relationship with Emma softens, and she grows more protective of her sisters. This suggest that, secure in herself, JJ is now able to take care of others. JJ’s character arc comes full circle when she recovers her memories, realizes her innocence, and saves Emma’s life.

Emma’s husband, Nathan Gates, is one of the novel’s antagonists. He is 35 years old and primarily described through the eyes of others. While Emma’s narration paints Nathan as a straightforward character who has few secrets and is “bad at subtext” (86), Nathan’s actions make it clear that Emma’s reading is off. The author shows Nathan’s lack of empathy toward Emma, for example, when he manipulates her into moving back to the home where her parents were murdered. He also repeatedly accuses her of harboring secrets, knowing that accusations trigger Emma, socially marginalized because of people’s false belief that she killed her parents. In this way, Nathan embodies the theme of The Domestic as a Dangerous Space.

Contrary to what Emma thinks or wants to portray, Nathan does have many secrets. Although Emma knows about his affair with Addison, she learns late in the plot that he stayed in their marriage for Emma’s money from the sale of the Palmer house. Nathan symbolizes the power of toxic patriarchy, controlling Emma through classic manipulation techniques. For instance, he insists on putting a tracking app in Emma’s phone so he can protect her, but his real goal is control. Nathan meets a violent end when Daphne, who has always been suspicious of him, murders him. In symbolic terms, Nathan’s death represents a rebirth for Emma and demonstrates The Complex Bonds of Sisterhood. After Nathan’s death, Emma sheds her wifely persona and renews her connection to her authentic self. Nathan is a flat and static character, since he does not grow through the novel.

Gabriel Mahoney is a sympathetic character, with shades of the romantic hero. Gabriel is 35 in the present timeline. His work as a carpenter is a metaphor for his grounded, constructive personality, and his care for his grandmother Lorelei indicates he is nurturing. Representing a positive model of masculinity, Gabriel serves as foil to the antagonistic Nathan. One of Gabriel’s best qualities, for example, is his respect for boundaries. Gabriel admits to Emma that he cared for her when she was a teenager, but kept their relationship platonic because of the gap in their ages.

Although Gabriel is initially upset with Emma for leaving him with no alibi for the night of the Palmer deaths, he quickly forgives her, further underscoring his kind nature and affection for Emma. Gabriel also shows empathy toward Emma because of his own difficult childhood. His father, Kenneth, experienced addiction and was neglectful toward him. At the end of the novel, Gabriel and Emma are on their way to becoming a couple.