The Kind Worth Killing: A Novel

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes references to the source text’s description of sexual assault and molestation of a minor.

The well in the meadow is a symbol of Lily’s suppressed trauma. When Lily returns to the well, she has a vision of herself as a young child after she murdered Chet. Lily’s vision connects to the symbolism of the well because her moral system derives from her childhood trauma with Chet and his murder. Since Lily never psychologically heals from Chet’s molestation, she remains stuck in the past, unable to soothe her younger self. However, Lily promises the girl that she will always put her survival over everything else in life, which means continuing to murder people when she feels threatened.

Since the well represents Lily’s trauma, it also holds her deepest secrets. The fact that the new owner is going to level the field foreshadows the way that Lily’s secrets are on the verge of exposure. Swanson builds suspense with the well because just as Lily believes that no one will ever catch her for her crimes, David’s letter reveals that someone is going to find the well and the bodies inside.