What happens in Chapter 1 of We Were Liars?
Chapter 1 begins with Cadence Sinclair Eastman introducing her family in a way that feels practiced and precise. The Sinclairs, with their old-money status, embody American royalty: they are beautiful, blonde, and impeccably poised. Cadence's grandfather, Harris Sinclair, rules over Beechwood, a private island off Martha's Vineyard where the family reunites every summer. Cadence outlines the family dynamics—her mother Penny and aunts Bess and Carrie are all vying for Harris's approval and, eventually, his fortune. The Sinclair women have been taught to hide their pain, never show vulnerability, and to always appear beautiful and virtuous. Cadence presents this image with a strange, fairy-tale detachment, as if recounting a tale she knows will not end well. The chapter concludes with a description of the island—idyllic, isolated, and already hinting at something darker—setting the stage for Beechwood as both a paradise and a prison.
Analysis
E. Lockhart begins the novel with a striking craft choice: Cadence tells her family's story like a myth. The writing mimics a fairy tale—using short, straightforward sentences and anaphoric phrases ("We are beautiful. We are privileged. We are happy.")—which both charms and disturbs the reader. The tone feels overly polished and curated, and Lockhart skillfully uses that shine against the story. The disconnect between the Sinclair family's self-image and the unsettling reality underneath creates the novel's key dramatic irony, and it's embedded in the very structure of the sentences.
The theme of performance is established right away: Sinclair women don't cry, complain, or show wounds in public. This code of emotional restraint becomes crucial to the story—it helps explain Cadence's fractured memories and the family's shared ability to deny the truth. Harris Sinclair appears as a patriarch whose approval acts as a form of currency, subtly framing the inheritance theme as a corrupting influence that taints every maternal bond on the island.
Beechwood is depicted as a symbol of privilege that also serves as a gilded cage. Lockhart's control over tone is meticulous: the chapter feels like a brochure created by someone aware of the dangers of the product. The fairy-tale simplicity isn't a sign of innocence—it acts as protection, and the reader picks up on this before Cadence reveals it.
Key quotes from Chapter 1
“We are liars. We are beautiful and privileged and we tell ourselves stories about who we are.”
Cadence introduces the Sinclair family identity in the chapter's opening passages, establishing the novel's central theme of self-deception through curated myth-making.
“A Sinclair woman never shows weakness. She is always beautiful, always good.”
Cadence recites the unspoken family code, framing emotional suppression as both inheritance and weapon passed down through the Sinclair women.
“Beechwood Island is ours. It has always been ours.”
Cadence describes the family's private island, grounding the novel's themes of entitlement and insularity in a specific, charged physical space.
Check your understanding
Vocabulary in Chapter 1
- privileged
- Having special advantages, wealth, and social status that most people do not have, often without earning them.