Gwendy's Button Box

Mr. Farris’s hat is a recurring motif that represents the theme of The Weight and Isolation of Secrets. Gwendy describes the hat as “a small black neat hat” (2). The appearance of Mr. Farris’s hat serves as a repeated reminder to Gwendy of the power of the button box. Following the beginning of her relationship with Harry, she begins to rely on the button box less and less, distancing herself from it. At the height of her happiness with Harry, Mr. Farris’s hat appears, reminding her of the weight of the button box’s secret. The fact that Gwendy sees Mr. Farris’s hat and Harry doesn’t underscores the isolation Gwendy feels as the keeper of the secret:

[Harry] doesn’t notice the black hat coming in their direction, not moving with the wind but against it. He doesn’t notice the hat slow down as it approaches, then suddenly change direction and swoop a complete circle around his horrorstruck girlfriend—almost as if kissing her hello, so nice to see you again—before it skitters off and disappears behind the bleachers that run alongside the third base line (133).

This appearance of the hat also foreshadows Harry’s upcoming death at the hands of