Rape and trauma
The unfortunate subject matter of this book is violent rape. The story is an allegory about what it feels like to not only endure violation and abuse by a stranger, but then to have to re-explain what happened over and over again, to have to go to court, to have press hearings, to have strangers with harsh opinions about it. The allegory shows that the way rape cases are commonly treated leaves victims feeling way more traumatized by the end. They literally blame the victim for her own rape, in court and on the media.
Johnny's defense
Johnny's defense is more than a symbol for deception. Actually, it has allegorical value. It symbolizes the hearsay nature of many rape cases. If Johnny did actually rape Vivian (as the reader knows), then his defense is atrocious, but if she invented the accusation to punish him after consensual sex, then she is the monster, not him. This dilemma shows why justice is so rare in rape cases. There is a Platonic paradox at play (the big man/small man argument in The Republic).
Vivian's insult and injury
Vivian's story captures the emotional horror of rape quite correctly, because not only is the event described, the aftermath and the following weeks of life are described as well. This is a case of "adding insult to injury," because Vivian is literally injured, physically, psychically, and emotionally by literal rape in the most brutal, forceful form. No one deserves peace more than she does, but instead, she is treated by the court and media with hostility, hesitation, and accusations against her character. Her suffering is a symbolic depiction of victim-shaming.
The lawyers and media
The lawyers and media combine to create a horrible mechanism that just lacerates Vivian, over and over again, as she is trying to heal. There is horrible combination of journalists who just want a catchy story with drama and intrigue with lawyers who want to spin the story and influence public opinion. By the end of their warped influence, Vivian is regarded by many people in Europe as a back-stabbing lover. They treat her with contempt. This can also be seen as a symbolic depiction of the feelings of paranoia and loneliness that are often compounded by shame in many rape cases.
Hope and hopelessness
The symbolic question of the allegory is "Where does Vivian's hope come from?" She thirsts for justice, but instead she only martyrs herself, with no serious hope for a just verdict—so effective are the defense lawyers in their conniving. She feels hopeless about her own physical safety, because PTSD keeps her in fight-or-flight mode as she tries to cope with the horror of her traumatic abuse. She feels hopeless about the system and its manipulative ways. The answer is narrative. By telling her story, Vivian finds hope by honoring her suffering and establishing her point of view. We know this because the author, Winnie Li, was the true victim in this story. She merely changed the names and published the story as fiction.
