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Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.

Social Class

In The Secret History, the topic of social class is largely unspoken, yet it is a force in many of the characters’ actions and relationships. Being an exclusive New England school, Hampden College has many students from the upper social class. As a result, several of the characters feel they need to hide their own more modest backgrounds, most significantly Richard and Bunny. Richard and Bunny are from vastly different circumstances. Richard comes from lower-middle-class parents in California, while Bunny comes from an old-money Connecticut family that has become destitute. However, because Bunny knows certain trappings of the upper social class, such as fashion, he can present himself as if he is as wealthy as his classmates. Richard, on the other hand, says as little as possible about his background while still trying to exude an aura of privilege. Despite both students’ efforts, their friends are well aware of their true situations, yet do not care. Bunny’s and Richard’s continued attempts to present themselves as part of a higher social class, despite their friends’ indifference, show how meaningless appearances truly can be. 

Beauty

Most of the conflict in The Secret History is centered on the characters’ obsession with beauty in some form and their desire to attain whatever beautiful thing they want at any cost. Richard is drawn to the beauty of Hampden College based solely on the pictures in a brochure, and he likewise drops his entire schedule to take Julian’s classes after being impressed by the gothic beauty of Julian’s students. All of Julian’s students are preoccupied with the nostalgic beauty of the ancient world, and this preoccupation drives them to center their studies on ancient Greece and, eventually, to participate in what turns out to be a deadly bacchanal. Beauty also disguises the darkness inside each character. Richard is in love with Camilla in large part because of her beauty, yet she is the only one in the group who does not appear to feel guilty about killing the farmer or Bunny. In this way, The Secret History warns against being fooled by outer beauty without examining what is on the inside.

Friendship

The Secret History centers on Richard’s friendship with Julian’s other students, showing both the benefits and drawbacks of such a supposedly intimate friendship. Richard is extremely lonely when he first arrives at Hampden, but he finally feels at home once he has been accepted by the other five. After getting to know his classmates, Richard feels a genuine connection with each of them. His life is saved by Henry, who takes him to the hospital and then gives him a place to stay. However, this close friendship also allows Richard to be easily manipulated, especially by Henry and Camilla. In the end, it is unclear whether Henry ever saw Richard as a true friend or whether he was just using Richard for his own selfish means. While Richard found friendship with the others enriching in some ways, it also severely isolated him from other potential friends and turned him into an accomplice to murder.

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