The Execution of Noa P. Singleton: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Execution of Noa P. Singleton" focuses on the complex lives of its major characters, primarily through the lens of Noa Singleton, a 35-year-old woman on death row for the murder of her father's pregnant girlfriend, Sarah. Noa, characterized as intelligent yet emotionally scarred, remains enigmatic about the events surrounding her conviction, including her troubled relationship with her father, Caleb, and the manipulative influence of Sarah's mother, Marlene. Marlene's aggressive pursuit to control the lives of those around her becomes a pivotal factor in the narrative, as she hires Noa to intervene in Sarah's relationship with Caleb and later seeks to distance herself from the consequences of Sarah’s tragic death.
Oliver, Noa's young attorney, embodies a moral compass as he strives to uncover the truth and argue for Noa’s innocence despite facing significant obstacles, including Marlene's threats. Other supporting characters, such as Sarah, whose death is central to the story, and Noa's childhood friend Persephone, who died under traumatic circumstances, further enrich the plot by highlighting themes of guilt, manipulation, and the search for redemption. The interplay of these characters creates a compelling narrative that examines the intricate dynamics of responsibility, trauma, and the human condition within a framework of crime and justice.
The Execution of Noa P. Singleton: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Elizabeth L. Silver
First published: 2013
Genre: Novel
Locale: Philadelphia
Plot: Fiction
Time: 2002–2012
Noa P. Singleton, an imprisoned young woman living on death row in the Pennsylvania Institute for Women. Noa is an angry, acerbic 35-year-old woman who has spent ten years on death row for the murder of her father's young, pregnant girlfriend, Sarah. Noa Singleton is curiously silent with her attorneys and the court about the events leading up to Sarah Dixon's death. Marlene Dixon (Sarah's mother) has hired the reluctant (even actively resistant) Noa to break up the relationship between Caleb (Noa's father) and Sarah, especially after finding out that Sarah is pregnant. Not only does Noa not reveal the relationship between herself and Marlene, she also fails to discuss the fact that her father, Caleb, slipped Sarah the abortion pill RU-486 because Marlene blackmailed him. Noa is a bright woman. She graduated as salutatorian of her high school, and she began her college career at the University of Pennsylvania—an Ivy League school. It is implied that the reason Noa shoots Sarah is that Noa is traumatized from an earlier incident when she was thirteen years old, in which she accidently shot and killed a friend, Persephone Riga. Noa dies a jaded and bitter woman.
Oliver (a.k.a. Ollie) Stansted, a young attorney. Marlene Dixon hires the first-year associate, Oliver, to get Noa's execution commuted to life in prison. Ollie is an honest and genuine young man who, after extensive research into the case, begins to realize that not only should Noa's death sentence be commuted, but she is likely innocent of capital murder. His efforts are frustrated, however: first by Noa, who refuses to tell him what actually happened, and then by Marlene, who fires him and then blackmails him when she discovers he's getting too close to the truth—to her own role in her daughter's death.
Marlene Dixon, Sarah's mother. A partner in a high-powered law firm, Marlene Dixon is a formidable presence. She is confident, aggressive, and highly manipulative. Marlene is arguably the most culpable in her daughter's death. Once Sarah starts dating Caleb, a man old enough to be her father and an ex-con, Marlene hires Noa to spy on the two and break them up. Once she learns Sarah is pregnant, Marlene blackmails Caleb so he will slip the abortion drug RU-486 into her drink, thus setting Sarah on a physical downward spiral toward collapse. (Sarah has a heart condition and likely died of a heart attack.) Although Marlene had argued for the death penalty ten years earlier, she has a change of heart and starts an organization called “Mothers Against Death,” (although it would seem that Noa Singleton is the only case she champions to get the sentence commuted.) Her personal involvement in Noa's case allows her to continue manipulating the lives of those involved in the case. Once Marlene learns that Oliver is investigating Noa's case more thoroughly than planned, she fires Oliver and threatens to ruin his career if he ever goes near Noa or the case.
Caleb, Noa's father. After spending years in prison for grand theft auto and other felonies, (even trafficking Mexican immigrants) Caleb Singleton is trying to make up for lost time with his daughter, Noa, who knows nothing about him. A recovering alcoholic who owns a bar, Caleb wants to be accountable and to make amends for his past mistakes. Noa describes Caleb as a “negative of a thin Charlie Chaplin” due to a scar above his lip where his beard won't grow. Though in his forties, Caleb is immature and panics when his girlfriend, Sarah, becomes pregnant, and he calls his daughter, Noa, to help him with the situation.
Sarah Dixon, murdered young woman. A very thin young woman in her twenties, Sarah looks like an anorexic teenager in baggy clothing, hair pulled back tightly in a confusion of dirty blond curls, intermingled with stringy, straight strands. She is an assistant curator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where she seems most at ease and in her element. She dates Caleb, Noa's father, and becomes pregnant. Given that she has a serious heart condition, the pregnancy could endanger her life. Sarah becomes frantic as her life begins to unravel and she suspects she's been drugged in an effort to end her pregnancy.
Noa's mother. As an actress, Noa's mother's personality is well-suited to her profession. She is a histrionic narcissist, who is addicted to drama. She is incapable of being a good mother to Noa because she only sees t he actions of others, including her daughter, as they reflect her own personality. When she is on the witness stand at her daughter's murder trial, her only comments are about what she could have done differently. (She also flirts shamelessly with the prosecutor while on the stand.) When her infant daughter slips from her arms and falls down the stairs, she is most concerned about how it will look when the emergency crews arrive. To make herself appear less culpable, she trashes her living room and claims there had been an intruder and that is how her baby was injured. (Her actions weigh heavily in Noa's behavior when Sarah Dixon dies, twenty-five years later.)
Andy Hoskins, Noa's high school boyfriend. A blue-eyed, olive-skinned boy, Andy Hoskins is attractive and very popular in school. He and Noa go steady for about four months at the end of their senior year in high school, and Noa gets pregnant. Now, decades later on the witness stand, Andy says he loved Noa, though she always tried to get him to break the rules. He says he never knew about Noa's pregnancy. He is the father of five children now, and would have loved the baby Noa aborted.
Persephone Riga, Noa's childhood friend. A beautiful 13-year-old girl with deep blue eyes and dark curls, Persephone is from an upper-middle-class family. One afternoon, bored and trying to pass the time, Noa and Persephone begin exploring the hidden treasures of her home. They discover a gun that accidently goes off, killing Persephone instantly. No one else is in the home at the time. With shades of memory from an incident when she was a small child, Noa attempts to make it look as if an intruder shot the girl. She steals a bracelet as part of the intruder ruse, and leaves without a word to anyone.
Tom Davies, attorney for the prosecution. Tom Davies is described as a suave, blue-eyed Australian with some experience in capital cases. He exudes a comfortable, middle-class ease. He is charismatic and easy to trust. Noa confesses that he probably knew she had a crush on him. At times, during the trial, Noa thinks he might have offered a better defense than her own lawyers, McCall and Harris.
Madison McCall, Noa's defense attorney. Noa describes how McCall “stumbled through his opening, painfully flogging each sentence so strangely, I was sure even Tom Davies [the prosecutor] would have done a better job in on my behalf.” His language is stilted and his logic is flawed.
Stewart Harris, Noa's defense attorney. An ineffectual defense attorney for Noa P. Singleton, Harris practically sleepwalks through the trial, refusing to rise or raise objections, allowing irrelevant evidence and testimony to stand. He also advises that Noa not take the stand in her own defense; therefore, her story is never revealed.
Bobby McManahan, Noa's boyfriend at the time of the murder. Bobby is a police-officer trainee when he and Noa are dating. He has dusty blond hair, parted on the side, and combed a bit too neatly for Noa's taste. Noa confides to him that she keeps getting mysterious phone calls from someone who never speaks, and it's making her nervous. This mystery caller calls at exactly the same time every day, except for the one day when Bobby is waiting for the call with Noa. Later, at Noa's trial, the fact that Bobby never witnessed any of these calls creates an element of doubt in Noa's story. Because of his association with Noa and the trial, Bobby never makes it as a police officer, and ends up working as a security guard.
Nancy Rae, tobacco-chewing prison guard.
Patsmith, Noa's neighbor in prison. Besides her permanent address on death row, Patsmith's biggest concern is her need to see her 13-year old daughter (who was one year old when she committed her crime) before she dies. The child's father won't allow it. Patsmith is guilty of shooting her lover during an attempted robbery. According to Noa, at twenty-one minutes of every hour, Patsmith cries out “Pat, I love you, Pat! I need you, Pat! I miss you Pat!”
Woodstock, the detective who questions Noa on the night of the murder. Noa explains that Woodstock seems to have a very limited vocabulary because, when asked about Noa's attitude after she's arrested, he can only reply that she was contentious, and that is his answer throughout the questioning.