Linx

Throughout Ghosts, Alderton utilizes the dating platform Linx as a symbol for the simultaneous ease and distance created by online dating. When Nina downloads the app for the first time, she is enamored by the manner in which she can search for love without leaving her apartment. However, this same ease and distance from human interaction leads her to feel lonely and isolated later in the novel. Linx facilitates interaction while create the illusion that human beings and relationships can be deleted and erased like instant messages.

The Hen Do

The author enacts Lucy’s hen do as a symbol for the traditions created around heteronormative romance. While Lucy conforms to patriarchal ideals of femininity and achievement, modern cultural continues to celebrate her decisions as an achievement. Conversely, Nina and Lola, the only single women at the party, do not receive the same attention and praise...