Hunting Adeline

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of gender and/or transgender discrimination, sexual violence and/or harassment, rape, mental illness, suicidal ideation and/or self-harm, graphic violence, sexual content, cursing, death, physical abuse, and emotional abuse.

“‘Doesn’t matter. This girl right here is worth millions. I mean, we got a fucking diamond here. Just imagine it, dude—Z’s girl, the one and only, up on an auction stage. You know how many enemies he has? People will be frothing at the mouth to make his girl their little toy. I’ll get my cut from Max, and the Society will compensate you, I’m sure. We’ll be living fucking lavishly.’ He lets out a burst of hyena-like laughter. ‘I can buy my own goddamn private island after the money goes through!’”

Rick’s callous outlook is designed to grant insight into the mindset of human traffickers, implying that such individuals think only of the rewards that they will receive, completely ignoring the moral implications of their actions. At the same time, Rick’s emphasis on Adeline as “Z’s girl” becoming someone else’s “little toy” removes any agency from Adeline. In his mind, she is literally an object, a “diamond,” for them to transport.

“I sit down on the cold metal bench, gritting my teeth against the pain, and train my feral gaze on Claire again. She stands right outside the doors, staring at me with a slight grin. Her tight red curls are glaring beneath the streetlamp, and for a moment, she appears innocent. She looks like a woman who has endured years of abuse in all forms and just wants to live a life in peace. But the mirage shatters and all I see is a woman who became everything she hates.”

A paradoxical element of the novel can be found in the fact that Carlton places two female characters, Francesca and Claire, at the forefront of the Society’s activities. In this passage, Zade watches Claire transform between a woman who has suffered and a woman who makes others suffer, posing a strange contradiction. Knowing what it means to be abused, Zade wonders how Claire can push the same suffering on other women.

“‘I want to take care of you, sweetie. I-I’ll treat you better than these people ever will. I promise I’ll be good to you.’ My mouth opens, but no sound escapes. The fuck does he expect me to say to that? Yes, please, whisk me away to your creepy lair. Nothing would make me happier. I want him to let me go home. Not into the arms of another creep that will trap me for the rest of my life.”

Garrison attempts to woo Adeline away from her imprisonment, but all he can offer is a different form of imprisonment. Garrison’s objectification of Adeline infantilizes her, and he treats her like a child who can be swayed with promises of toys or candy. For him, Adeline has no autonomy and should just go along with whatever he suggests.