Many of the characters in A Fatal Grace rely on social or professional validation to reinforce a sense of self. Failure to win approval leads to lasting emotional damage for these characters, and, in two cases, to fatal violence.

A number of the villagers demonstrate insecurity. Clara suffers when she thinks an influential gallery owner finds her work amateur and banal. Even though El gives her the opposite opinion, Clara can’t feel satisfied that her art is good enough. Mother Bea is deeply disturbed by CC’s critique of her meditation center even though friends insist CC’s use of “Be Calm” as the name of her book is an homage and not an insult.

The detectives on the case aren’t immune to insecurity either. Lemieux constantly questions what Gamache thinks of him; he’s desperate for approval from his superior. Even though Beauvoir is older and more experienced than Lemieux, he suffers from the same insecurity. He worries about his appearance and how the local villagers perceive him. Nichol harbors a deep belief that she isn’t worth saving. Gamache offers her some validation by rescuing her from a fire, but she comes to doubt it was she he intended to save.

Even Gamache harbors self-doubt.