59 pages • 1 hour read
The Perfect Son
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Character Analysis
Erika Cass
Content Warning: The source text includes references to physical assault, psychological manipulation, child abuse, and animal abuse. Additionally, the source material uses offensive terms for mental health conditions throughout, which are replicated in this guide only in direct quotes of the source material.
Erika, one of the novel’s two protagonists, is a stay-at-home mom and embodies the theme of The Safety and Expectations of Families. At the beginning of the novel, Erika seems to miss her pre-motherhood job as a full-time journalist, reflecting that “there was a lot of upward mobility at the paper, and if [she] had stayed on, [she]’d probably have a pretty good job there by now” (36). This suggests that motherhood does not completely fulfill Erika, despite her devotion to that role. To maintain her identity outside of motherhood, Erika works part-time at the Nassau Nutshell, writing domestic pieces about local events in town. As her family life becomes more chaotic, Erika is unable to keep up with the demands of her newspaper job, ultimately losing the job. This suggests that Erika sacrifices herself and her own desires for her family.
Motherhood is extremely important to Erika, and she spends the novel going to great lengths to protect her son, though she is conflicted over the extent to which she should. In many ways, she is overbearing and controlling, interfering with Liam’s life by, for example, scaring off potential romantic partners, which she views as a necessary protective measure. Complicating Erika’s identity as a devoted mother is her clear favoritism for Liam over Hannah. The narrative suggests that this is because Liam is easier to get along with, though several characters point out Hannah’s similarity to Erika. Despite her favoritism, she does not trust Liam, publicly and privately questioning her son’s innocence. Regardless of her distrust, she ultimately decides to protect her son from the consequences of his actions by telling the police that she, rather than Liam, killed Jason. This suggests that Erika has come to grips with her role as Liam’s protector and may continue to protect him from the consequences of his actions, perhaps beginning with the girl she suspects he killed at the debate competition.
In addition to dealing with her son’s disturbing and violent tendencies, Erika learns that her father was a murderer, causing her to feel tremendous guilt for passing down these murderous genes to her children. She struggles at times with seeing her father—and Liam—as dynamic people who are not all good or all bad. She worries a great deal about genetics but does not notice the very real way that Jason’s behavior influences Liam’s actions.
Olivia Mercer
Olivia Mercer is one of the two protagonists of the novel and is Liam’s love interest. She fits the archetype of the damsel in distress, spending much of the novel stuck in a hole after Jason kidnaps her. She is sexually inexperienced and generally uninterested in boys, though her crush on Liam is so intense that she is failing math class. After Liam saves her from Jason, Olivia defends him against the police and her friends, reminding everyone that he saved her. Following the damsel in distress trope, McFadden has Olivia and Liam together at the end of the novel. Their happy relationship at the novel’s close appears on its face to be a “happily ever after.”
However, throughout the novel, McFadden subverts the damsel in distress trope, with Olivia proving herself to be brave and determined several times. For example, despite her traumatic broken leg, Olivia works hard to build a mound that will allow her to break out of the hole. When her captor taunts her, she cooperates to get what she wants, but when she tells him she will tell the police what happened, she stands up for herself in the face of danger. Her use of Phoebe’s bone as a tool similarly subverts the damsel in distress trope. Further, McFadden complicates Olivia’s happy ending with Liam’s ambiguous killer status, leading to the question of whether Erika and Jason’s marriage will repeat itself with Olivia and Liam.
McFadden uses Olivia’s scenes to set up false expectations and red herrings about the identity of the killer. For example, Olivia is fiercely protective of Liam at the beginning of the novel, despite the many warnings she receives about his emotional stability. This sets up a false expectation that Liam will cause her harm. It is unclear if Olivia is too in love with Liam to see what others do or if she has a better sense of him than everyone else. In addition, the scenes in the hole do not reveal the identity of Olivia’s captor, though McFadden eventually reveals that Olivia knew it was Jason all along. McFadden describes Jason from Olivia’s perspective, hidden in shadow behind a bright flashlight. This allows the author to delay revealing Jason’s identity.
Liam Cass
Liam is the oldest Cass child. A talented debate student and competitive track star, he is known for his charm and shockingly good looks. Throughout much of The Perfect Son, Liam appears to be the novel’s antagonist. The author only reveals at the novel’s end that Jason is the true antagonist. Through references to Liam’s dangerous and cruel behavior as a young child, the author suggests that Liam’s charm and good looks help him get away with things other boys his age could not. Some astute adults and teenagers assert that he’s putting on an “act.” This ambiguity over Liam’s true nature highlights the theme of Appearance Versus Reality. McFadden sets up expectations about Liam’s nature based on his cruel acts, only revealing at the end of the novel the extent to which Jason informed Liam’s behavior.
The author balances Liam’s real history of violent and manipulative behavior with red herrings to build suspense and uncertainty. He has been cruel to animals and humans—both children and adults, and he expressed a desire to torture his future wife when he grows up. These serious behavior problems send Erika to a psychologist, who sets up the false belief that Liam is incapable of feeling love. Erika’s belief in this inability further sets up negative expectations for Liam. However, despite his dark thoughts, it is unclear if Liam ever acts on any of his violent impulses. Though many people in the novel accuse or suspect him of violence, there is no proof to tie him to anything. For example, Liam’s English teacher believes that Liam tried to poison his family with carbon monoxide, an act Jason ultimately confesses committing. In fact, Jason admits to most of Liam’s worst acts, including Olivia’s kidnapping, though Jason acknowledges that Liam, like himself, is a killer by nature. The one act of violence Liam definitively commits in the novel is stabbing Jason to death, an act of protection for Erika.
The end of the novel does not resolve the question of Liam’s true nature. The final part of the novel emphasizes Liam’s similarities to his father and grandfather, illustrating the theme of The Threat of Inheritance and Genetics. For example, the narrative ends with Liam coming in from a run to Erika cooking eggs, just as Jason did at the beginning of the novel. Further, Liam’s relationship with Olivia mirrors his parents’ relationship and his grandfather’s history. The disappearance of the girl in Troy suggests that Liam is more similar to the other men in his family than it might seem.
Jason Cass
Jason Cass is Erika’s husband and the father to Hannah and Liam. On the surface, he is a nerdy and goofy father who loves to make “dad jokes.” He is an attentive and supportive husband to Erika but is more hands-off when it comes to raising the children, especially Liam. He often implies that he thinks Erika is overreacting about Liam’s behavior, a habit that, like many of his habits, seems different after he is revealed as the killer. At the novel’s beginning, he is a successful computer entrepreneur, and he is revealed as the antagonist at the novel’s end, providing an unexpected twist.
The novel’s reveal that Jason is a serial killer subverts the theme of The Safety and Expectations of Families. The author unveils his true nature with a chapter from Jason’s point of view, showing that Jason strongly dislikes Erika and Hannah and views Liam as his competition and potential downfall. McFadden reveals the Cass family to be in grave danger because of Jason, who is nothing like the devoted and loving family man he seems to be through most of the novel. Rather than fulfilling his fatherly role as protector, Jason tries to frame Liam to get rid of him before murdering the rest of the family. Jason’s death also subverts Liam’s role as a loving son.
Jason’s similarities to Liam emphasize the theme of The Threat of Inheritance and Genetics. He prides himself on his intelligence and good looks and enjoys being in positions of power. He is also convinced that Liam’s sloppiness and stupidity will draw attention to his own crimes. While the novel draws a clear line between Jason’s genes, his apparent personality disorder, and his violent behavior, it is important to note that mental health researchers have established that mental health conditions are not a predictor of violent behavior. In fact, people with mental health conditions are more likely to experience violent crime than to perpetrate it. McFadden also suggests that Jason and Liam are aware of each other’s propensity for violence, suggesting that Liam’s behavior may be influenced more by his understanding of his father’s nature than a genetic tendency toward violence.
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