Richard’s portrait symbolizes the mystery at the heart of the novel. Grant fixates on Richard’s features and facial expression to understand the man’s character. The detective has trouble defining the image even though he’s an expert at interpreting faces.

He asks everyone who visits him what they see in Richard’s face. The answers he receives have very little to do with the man depicted. Both nurses base their opinions on the myth of Richard, the murderer. The Surgeon, Matron, and Sergeant Williams all see something related to their respective occupations.

The portrait’s meaning changes over the course of the novel as it reflects the reader’s changing perception of the subject. By the end, when the Amazon admits it’s a nice face, the reader is inclined to agree with her.

In The Daughter of Time, books are a recurring motif. They represent a lack of knowledge and act as a source of disinformation. Very early on, Grant reluctantly rummages through a pile of novels. He rejects them all with a “nauseated gaze” because they contain nothing of use and can’t relieve his boredom. He thinks, “It might be a good thing […] if all the presses of the world were stopped for a generation.