Hidden Pictures

Mallory emphasizes several times that Adrian’s love for pulpy science fiction and fantasy is an endearing trait. How does Adrian’s openness to genre fiction make him a useful ally to Mallory? Why is he willing to listen to her theories when no one else is?

There is a steady tension between metaphysics and empirical proof throughout Hidden Pictures. The Maxwells insists on empirical proof for every claim, despite knowing that ghosts exist. Mitzi is largely a caricature of a new-age, hippy metaphysician, but she turns out to be correct in her assumptions about the presence in the cottage. How do the Maxwells and Mitzi serve as foils to each other, and in what ways are they alike?

What does Mitzi mean when she suggests that Caroline doesn’t really want to be a mother? What were Caroline’s motivations for taking Teddy, and in what ways did she follow through or fall short in those reasons as Teddy grew? Who was the “better mother,” Margit or Caroline? Discuss your reasons.

The story of Annie Barrett serves as a misdirection away from the story’s real antagonists. In a novel that spends little time on the subject of race relations, Annie’s story—and her disappearance—are functions of racial intolerance. What purpose does the inclusion of her past serve in the narrative?

Guilt and shame are major themes of Hidden Pictures. Contrast the differing nature, purpose, and effects of the guilt suffered by Mallory, Caroline, and Margit.

How did you respond to the inclusion of Teddy’s drawings as part of the story? Did they contribute to the tension or distract from it, or did you feel neutral about them? What role do they serve in the narrative?

What is the purpose of including the research study at the beginning of the novel? Is the reader meant to infer that Mallory has a preternatural sensitivity to being watched, or is it a simple reminder that the feeling of being watched is a real experience? What role does the “male gaze” have in the novel? Why or why not?

Mallory is an unreliable narrator. In most first-person narratives, there must always be a degree of unreliability because a first-person account of a story is subjective. However, Mallory knows that she is an unreliable narrator given the damage caused by drug use, the trauma of Beth’s loss, and the stresses she experiences at the Maxwells’ home. She writes Hidden Pictures so that Flora can eventually learn the entire truth about that summer. Should the reader take Mallory’s account as accurate or treat it with skepticism given her own professed unreliability? Discuss your reasons.