55 pages • 1 hour read
Jessa MaxwellThe Golden Spoon
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Grafton Manor and the Baking Tent
As the site of the competition, Grafton Manor and the baking tent provide the backdrop against which the novel unfolds. Although it is located in Vermont, the Manor evokes the kind of country houses associated with the Great British Bake Off, with labyrinthine corridors, heavily-used fireplaces, and furnishings that, as Pradyumna suggests, belong on the set of a “BBC minidrama.”
Large and mysterious, Grafton Manor intrigues the contestants as they enter the ancestral home and begin to explore its various wings. Stella remarks on how “the house gazes down on me” with “uniform and opaque” windows that disguise the inside (118). Through Stella’s description, Maxwell personifies Grafton Manor as it looks down over Stella while shielding what lies indoors through dark windows. The darkness of the windows and the hidden nature of certain wings and stairs highlight the mystery that encompasses Grafton Manor. The entrance to the old servants’ quarters, which hold clues to Lottie’s mother’s disappearance, remains hidden inside a wardrobe that Pradyumna discovers only with the limited guidance of Peter. As the contestants explore more of the Manor, they discover more about the secrets held by its inhabitants of the past and present.
Thus, on the one hand, Grafton Manor is a gathering place, where Betsy welcomes Bake Week contestants to her home each year. On the other, it is a place where separation is rigidly enforced: The contestants are forbidden from entering Betsy’s quarters in the East Wing, and the fourth floor is entirely sealed. While that particular division is breached repeatedly through the course of the story, the prohibition nonetheless provides an alibi for Stella and Hannah: Since contestants are not allowed in the East Wing, they could not have possibly been in Archie’s bedroom when he was pushed out the window.
Baking
Each contestant’s approach to baking represents their approach to life. As the contestants detail their love of and approach to baking, they reveal their personality traits and deeper motivations. Gerald, a methodical baker, views baking and life as an equation. Committed to breaking down this equation into manageable parts, Gerald struggles to adapt to unforeseen circumstances that threaten to disrupt his process. When Gerald is sabotaged by Melanie and Graham, he is unable to accept the circumstances and ruthlessly pursues answers. Hannah approaches baking with a boldness that accepts no criticism. Such boldness leads Hannah to pursue fame and success without hesitation, which leads her straight into the dangerous arms of Archie Morris. For Stella, baking offers a connection to Betsy Martin, a symbol of comfort from her childhood. The nostalgia of her connection with Betsy provides Stella an outlet for her anxiety and leads her to apply to the competition. Through her journey for relief from her anxiety, Stella discovers a renewed passion for journalism and a release from her panic attacks. Pradyumna enjoys the improvisation required in baking and sees baking as an opportunity to have fun and occupy his mind. Peter sees baking as a means of expressing his love for his family. He maintains this devotion to his family and escapes the devastating consequences of the competition by remaining committed to his family and being content with his life. For Lottie, baking offers her the chance to reconnect with her mother and her past at Grafton Manor. Lottie’s allegiance to her mother’s memory and the traditions they completed in her childhood guide Lottie to pursue answers regarding her mother’s disappearance and to serve as a maternal figure for those around her. Each of the baking styles adopted by the contestants provides insight into the deeper motivations of each contestant and the greater themes of the novel.
The Golden Spoon
Although it appears only once in the novel—when Stella brings Betsy to her office after Archie’s death—the golden spoon looms over the entire competition as the symbol of the financial and personal success that can be achieved through baking. While a “silver spoon” idiomatically indicates inherited privilege—the kind of privilege that Betsy enjoys—the golden spoon appears to celebrate individual achievement, practice, and hard work—the kind of values that Betsy embodies in public. Upon seeing the golden spoon for the first time, Stella remarks on how “it is hard not to stare” at the prize, representing its irresistible nature (224). Stella comments on how heavy the prize seems to be, signaling its value and weight for each of the contestants and co-hosts.
