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Book 2, Chapter 4
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Son, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Pain and Maternal Love
Travel, Fitting In, and Values
Emotion, Individuality, and the Human Experience
Family and Coming of Age
Community and Sacrifice
Summary
Analysis
As Claire and Alys walk to the wedding later, Claire asks about weddings. Alys says she never had one, but most people do. They’re always in summer (Claire is also learning the seasons). After setting their cake down on a table, Alys leads Claire to the rest of the community, where they wait for the ceremony. Suddenly, Claire asks what it is as men playing instruments walk into the circle. Frowning, Alys asks if Claire has never heard music before. Claire hasn’t. Once the ceremony is over, the music starts up again. Claire is entranced and delighted. She notices Lame Einar standing up on a hill, but he turns away. As the others line up to dance she considers inviting him to watch with her, but he’s already gone.
Having come from a place where spouses were assigned (not chosen) and there was a communal wedding of sorts, a wedding like this is certainly well outside of Claire’s experience or understanding. Music—something that brings people joy and is often a part of celebrations—is also new. As Claire thinks about Einar, it becomes clear that her interest in him is kind, compassionate, and perhaps romantic. But Claire perhaps isn’t able to name any of these feelings either, since she’s most likely a bit overwhelmed by the process of learning about (or, to a certain extent, relearning) everything a person can feel and experience.
Themes
A few days after the wedding, Tall Andras works on his scarecrow. He fashions a skeletal body and arms, ties cloth around it, and then notices Claire watching him. He shows her the gourd that will make the head and begins to carve the face. Claire hands him grass to be hair, and he glues it to the gourd with pitch. The scarecrow still doesn’t have a mouth, so Andras works with his knife for a few more minutes. To Claire’s horror, the mouth isn’t smiling: it’s “tortured.” She isn’t sure why she’s so upset. Then, Andras mimics the scarecrow’s face, pushing his tongue into his cheek. This triggers a memory for Claire—someone made that face back at her—and she begins to sob. Andras has no idea what he did, and Claire runs away.
At first, Claire is very interested in helping Tall Andras with the scarecrow: this is a novel experience, and though it’s unclear whether she recognizes Andras’s romantic interest in her for what it is, the companionship is nevertheless nice. Claire is so upset by the scarecrow’s face and Andras’s imitation of it because it’s a face she and Abe made at each other, suggesting that her memories are beginning to return. It also hints that remembering won’t be a pleasant experience and might change the lighthearted and innocent way she interacts with villagers here.
Themes
Claire races into Alys’s hut, still sobbing. Alys can tell she’s crying from grief, so Alys silently pours her tea and asks if “something’s come back.” Claire says she started to remember something, but she can’t remember it fully. She describes helping Tall Andras and how they were laughing, and then, suddenly, she was upset. She doesn’t know why.
Alys continues to provide nonjudgmental support to Claire, helping Claire feel comfortable with this process of remembering.
Themes
