Standards of Beauty as a Metaphor for Freedom and/or Oppression
There is an interesting duality that plays out in using standards of beauty as a metaphor for both freedom and oppression and readers can see these through the lives and the successive transformations of Shannon/the Narrator and Shane. Beauty can be oppressive, viewed as a means by which to enslave others such as in the case of Shannon/The Narrator as she was, because of her beauty, objectified and constantly told what to do by directors and fashion photographers. Shane on the other hand experiences freedom as a result of undergoing gender-reassignment and cosmetic surgery transforming into a beautiful woman. Through the surgery he is freed of the gender expectations that come with being a male and by living out his life as a woman he is now able to discard all the baggage that came with being the man formerly known as Shane.
Scars as a Metaphor for Memories/the Past
Regardless of the doctor’s skill or how extreme a person’s transformation is there will always be some scars left over. These physical scars are a metaphor for a person’s past and a representation of memories that they try to either suppress or eradicate altogether by creating an entirely new persona for themselves. The scars are also a metaphor for the undeniable reality that a person is, for better or worse, shaped by their past.
Surgery/Self-Mutilation as a Metaphor for Transformation
The gender reassignment surgery that Shane undergoes and the horrific mutilation that Shannon inflicts upon herself are metaphorical of their desire to transform--to metamorphose like a caterpillar becomes a butterfly in a manner of speaking---going through a stage of dormancy. Both of these characters believe that in changing their appearances they also alter their identities as appearance is a major determinant of how people ultimately respond to them.
Empty Houses as a Metaphor for the American Dream
The houses that Shannon and Shane frequently infiltrate--outwardly beautiful, filled with chic furniture as well as potentially dangerous prescription medication thoughtlessly left behind but otherwise devoid of inhabitants is how the author sees the pursuit of the American Dream. Like these houses the American Dream is just that: a cosmetically pleasing but hollow and often drugged up, ultimately pointless, pursuit.
Fire as a Metaphor for Drastic Change
Throughout the novel fire--in several different permutations--often precedes a major, radical change. Shane and Shannon burn down Evie Cotrell’s house in an attempt to get vengeance and to cut her out of their lives. Shannon “rids” herself of the shackles of her beauty by gunfire. Fire therefore becomes the vanguard, catalyst, and metaphor for any major change that comes upon the main character’s life.
