75 pages • 2 hours read
Geraldine BrooksHorse
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Lexington’s Skeleton
Lexington’s skeleton symbolizes the reverence in which he was once held and the neglect into which his legacy has fallen in the years since his fame has waned. Lexington was not only forgotten, relegated to an attic, but mislabeled. Just as Jarret’s contributions are obscured from the record, Lexington is similarly seemingly forgotten, labeled simply “Horse.” Like his history, Lexington’s skeleton was assembled based on assumptions, not firsthand knowledge of his physiology.
It is only the photograph of Lexington with Jarret, and the accompanying paintings she and Theo encounter in their research, which lend Jess insight into Lexington’s true form. It is fitting that the only actual reference photograph of Lexington features Jarret by his side, as he always was. In studying Lexington’s skeleton and ensuring that his newly articulated and properly labeled form will be placed in a proper place of recognition, Jess participates in the theme of Legacy, Heritage, and Inheritance, which is, in turn, directly intertwined with the theme of The Lost Stories Within American Racing History. In rearticulating Lexington’s skeleton, Jess enables the creation of an exhibit specifically for him, which enables Lexington’s story to be told—and Jarret’s, should anyone pick up where Theo’s research left off. The symbol of Lexington’s skeleton brings up the question of what might be learned and uncovered by lending attention and resources to neglected and forgotten artifacts, those which hold undiscovered potential when reevaluated by modern technologies capable of unlocking their hidden details.
Paintings of Lexington
The multiple, successive paintings of Lexington symbolize the growth that he and Jarret experience throughout their many years together. Like Lexington’s skeleton, many of the paintings were lost or overlooked. Pre-photography, paintings like these—in addition to being commissioned for the owners of prized racehorses—were put into practical use for advertisements, stud fee announcements, and news publications. Scott created the two paintings he gifted to Jarret personally in addition to his commissioned works. When Jess and Theo view the first painting, gifted by Martha Jackson and depicting Lexington as a colt at The Meadows, he is just a yearling, not yet grown into his body. In subsequent paintings, they can see his athleticism and prowess emerge. These paintings, like Lexington’s skeleton, tie into Legacy, Heritage, and Inheritance, as when Theo’s salvaged painting undergoes conservation efforts by Jeremy Raines at the Museum Support Center. To the unaware, such paintings may seem like pretty but ultimately unimportant decorations; but to those who know of Lexington’s importance to Thoroughbred racing, they are a vital piece of Lexington’s story.
These paintings symbolize Jarret’s presence in the shadows of Lexington’s legacy; each time Scott painted him, Jarret was there to keep Lexington calm, present in the moment but not in the resulting image. When Scott paints his final painting, he does include Jarret, and for Jarret, this is the one painting he is determined to recover. The two other paintings, no matter the sentimental value they may have acquired for him in the time that he owned them, do not compare to the image which reflects their bond.
By the end of the novel, the paintings Jarret lost take places of honor at the Smithsonian. One is passed down through the descendants of Jarret’s friend May, eventually ending up in Martha Jackson’s collection. The other, stolen from Jarret during a Confederate raid, ends up in the hands of fellow Black horseman Theo. Upon Theo’s death, it is sold to a Lexington-centric exhibit; it includes, at the insistence of the seemingly prejudiced neighbor to whom Theo had wanted to return it, a dedication in Theo’s memory, tying Theo into the story of Lexington’s legacy.
The Stopwatch for the Race Against Time
The Race Against Time is devised as the purest possible test of Lexington’s speed. In turn, the stopwatch becomes the only way for Lexington’s time to be meaningfully appreciated. The stopwatch, or chronometer, symbolizes his singularity as an exceptional racehorse. In top form, Lexington has no equine opponents to whom he could lose; his only true opponent, therefore, is time itself.
As a promoter, Ten Broeck contrives the race as a spectacle. The stopwatch for the race was marketed specifically to spectators who were planning to be in attendance. That the stopwatch was purchased by the many thousands in the audience indicates the intense fervor of the fans of turf racing; Lexington became as famous as he did in part because the stage on which his talents were appreciated was so large. Initially, the name of the event—“A Race Against Time” —reflects the literal nature of the race: horse versus stopwatch. However, it is also a reference to the timelessness of Lexington’s immense legacy, specifically its endurance and defiance of the passage of time. The race itself also symbolizes Lexington’s race against the time he has left before going completely blind, an ailment which could put him at great risk.
The stopwatch enables anyone present to check Lexington’s astonishing speed in undisputable numerical data. This measurement is especially meaningful when considered historically; even a century and a half later, Dr. Catherine Morgan can appreciate Lexington’s abilities, as his speed was measured with precise data that remains relevant. It allows her to engage with Lexington as he was in life, keeping his legacy alive far after Lexington himself has died.
Related Titles
By Geraldine Brooks
