Previous
Tosca
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Night Watchman, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Power, Solidarity, and Community Action
Oppression and Supposed Good Intentions
Humor and Pain
Sex, Violence, and Gender
Agency and Exploitation
Summary
Analysis
Millie had been the one to call the ambulance and make sure Thomas went to the hospital. As a relative, Patrice is the only one allowed in the room. When the nurse assures her that Thomas will be okay, Patrice goes to Millie’s studio in the city to stay for the night. While talking, Patrice asks if she has a boyfriend. Millie says that nobody is appealing to her. Patrice says she’s thinking about Wood Mountain. Millie says she’s heard he’s handsome and then tells Patrice that she’s beautiful. Millie opens her mouth to let words of love flow out, but the words don’t come. Patrice says to Millie that she wants to adopt Millie, for Millie to be her sister. Though Millie knows that that would be a meaningful recognition in the Chippewa tradition, she is both happy and, for some reason, disappointed.
Another person seems to have fallen in love with Patrice, this time Millie. She wants to tell Patrice how she feels, something that would go against the gender norms of the time, but Patrice expresses her feelings first, feelings that are deep and familial but platonic, not romantic. Millie is disappointed without knowing exactly why, but Patrice’s desire to adopt Millie into their family also gives Millie the chance to find more belonging by becoming more of a part of the community.
Themes
