Beginning with the title of the novel, The Shadow of the Wind, Zafón uses a shadow motif to represent the characteristics of all mysteries: particularly the shadows of human nature, which characterize all of the main characters in the novel. Shadows are the most prominent motif used throughout the novel, and the meaning carried by each shadow metaphor can be different, with some meanings providing insight into a character and others representing evil or madness within a character.

When characters lie or are deeply troubled, they appear in or as shadows. For example, Daniel recognizes that “Nuria Monfort lived adrift in shadows” (163). Shadows also indicate pain from the past or foreshadow pain in the future, as when Jacinta Coronado realizes that “she lived in the shadow of the Aldayas’ luxuries” (263). In Jacinta’s story of Penelope and Julian’s love affair, she says, “Shadows spread around Julián, and soon they would close in on him” (269). Daniel sees the figure of Laín Coubert frequently in shadows; in fact, Laín Coubert is the evil alter-ego of Julian Carax.

In a more positive sense, Daniel’s father tells him that “some things can only be seen in the shadows” (4).