Bridget Murphy has traveled to Halifax, to deliver her baby and hand the baby over for adoption. Bridget seeks sanctuary at the psyche ward in the children’s hospital. While at Halifax, she becomes apathetic, and the doctors find it wise to transfer her to a psych ward. While at the psyche ward, she encounters five teenagers who are mentally disturbed.
The most fascinating character is Bridget’s uncle, Albert. The way he narrates his experiences after traveling to various places is “breath-taking”. So far, in all the places he has traveled, he has not found any enjoyable place. Every city or town that has visited has not met his expectations, and he clearly illustrates this, by cursing these towns and their dwellers. Albert is a hypocrite. This hypocrisy is seen when he uses a certain type of language when with Bridget, but he uses “proper” language when with the other members of the family.
The most capable person who can provide support to Bridget is her mother. Joan goes ahead and looks for a priest who can talk to Bridget and offers her some spiritual advice and counseling.
Bridget is angered by Byron because of his bizarre illusion of grandeur. Byron is one of the patients in the psych ward.
Mona’s contribution to the story is for comic relief. This trait is seen in the way she is humorously narrating her life as if the story is not real.
Bridget benefits from her time in the ward because it has helped her “wounds” to heal. She has time to discover that there are more “crazy” persons than her. Bridget also appreciates her family later.
Robert insists that he is a professional craftsman who engages in art.
Robert thinks that artists and art are meant for the younger generation that has deviated from good morals. Therefore, he thinks that craftsmanship is for those individuals who are wise.
Rollie is treated like a special person and is given a lot of attention.
Bridget has trouble sleeping because of her experience. This includes the birth and the loss of her child to adoption which left her traumatized. She also has trouble sleeping because of her boyfriend and her family. She seems to dislike her family and her sleeplessness does not improve even after leaving the ward.
The snowflakes symbolize the decisions she has to make after leaving the ward. According to Bridget, the decisions are challenging to make, but she has the potential of making good decisions.
It is not surprising that Byron has the intention of leaving an impression on Bridget. Byron sees Bridget as her close friend and thinks that leaving an impression will sustain the friendship formed while at the wards.
Joan has the objective of having Maria home for Christmas while she has no plans of being with Bridget. This is ironic, in that Joan is planning to have Maria instead of demanding her own daughter’s company during Christmas.
Rollie describes his brother as having a bad attitude and that is why he likens this to a “raw-hurt”. In the real sense, his brother has a good heart towards people.
I am not surprised when Bridget goes back to her ways as she is faced with a lot of pressure and loneliness. The only place where she ought to find solitude is in her family and yet they seem to betray her. Her family goes ahead and talks about her and this makes one feel sorry for her. She sits down on the couch and all she can do is listen as her family discusses her. The members of her family are the ones who ought to counsel her on good morals and encourage her.
The snowstorm at the end of the novel is symbolic of the things that will culminate in the family. The snowstorm symbolizes the “storm” that will evolve if Bridget fails to change her “ways” and the measures her family will take on her.
Coady made the right choice in using the third person in narrating the story. This type of narration makes the reading insightful and entertaining to read. A third-person narrator helps the reader to look at the story from all “angles” and make their conclusion. When a third person narrates a story it tends to be less emotional, more objective, and personal. The third-person narrator is not biased towards any character in the novel.
The novel treats adoption as a way of letting someone else help you with bringing up your child if you are not capable of doing it. It is seen as a way of giving the barren women a chance to bring up their children. Adoption is a way of giving a chance to those who are not able to “hold” their babies.
Table showing points of comparison based on the theme, family relationships, and characteristics of the teen protagonist.