Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Firekeeper’s Daughter, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Justice
Generational Trauma and Bigotry
Ceremony, Pride, and Healing
Love, Honesty, and Respect
Coming of Age
Family and Community
Summary
Analysis
Daunis can’t breathe; she’s too hot. She finds herself on the bed with Jamie holding a damp handkerchief to her forehead. Jamie doesn’t ask questions, but he seems to be piecing together what happened to Daunis. He doesn’t lecture her, either. Jamie unwraps two protein bars for Daunis and shows her how to turn off and on the tracking feature on his watch; when she has the opportunity, she must leave the trailer. Daunis, meanwhile, mentally takes stock of what she knows about Jamie. He’s 22, was a pairs figure skater and then a hockey player, and he doesn’t know his tribe. He wants to belong to something bigger, he loves Daunis, and he didn’t see any of this coming. Unable to keep her eyes open, Daunis curls up to sleep.
It’s implied that Jamie is beginning to understand that Grant raped Daunis at Shagala. Recall that Daunis didn’t want to tell Jamie about the rape at the time because she was afraid he’d blame her, despite there being little evidence he’d react that way. Now, he confirms that he won’t blame her. Daunis seems to wrap this up in her realization that he loves her when she takes her mental tally about him. Essentially, she realizes that Jamie has lied to her and is still a mystery in many ways. But for now, it’s enough that he loves, respects, and wants to protect her.
Themes
Daunis dreams that she’s a tiger watching Jamie, a panther far from home, fail to fight off an attack from Levi, Stormy, and Mike. Ron shouts that he can’t find Jamie, but when Daunis tries to fight the boys, she realizes she’s chained to a bed. She watches Jamie die as a snake slithers up her leg. Daunis wakes up terrified. Jamie is holding her and though Daunis knows he’s not Grant, his breath on her shoulder still scares her. After getting up, Daunis sorts through her thoughts. She knows that the guys, Grant, and Angie are responsible for the meth, and Dana is involved. Levi is the weakest link, and though Mike promised to let Jamie go if Daunis cooperates, Jamie won’t go free. Daunis doesn’t know many more things, including whether Levi was involved in Uncle David’s death and how to stop loving her brother.
Daunis’s dream initially seems symbolically straightforward: Jamie is out of his element and (in theory) it’s up to Daunis and Ron to save him, but Daunis feels impotent at the moment. What’s a mystery is who the snake symbolizes—and how much revealing the snake’s identity is going to shake Daunis. Then, Daunis continues to rely on her Uncle David’s wisdom as she catalogues what she knows, as this is something that he encouraged her to do. The trouble now, Daunis finds, is that she still loves Levi. And this makes the prospect of doing the right thing (turning him in to the authorities) emotionally more difficult.
Themes
Just after dawn, Jamie gets up to pee, and Daunis realizes that he’s also been awake most of the night. But he suggests they sleep, since nobody will come back for hours. Daunis asks him to face the wall and asks if she can spoon him. Praying for courage, she says that Grant tricked her by saying he had a security video of her snooping in his office, and then he raped her. After a long silence, Jamie says that Daunis will get out of here today. Ron will help, the FBI will get Grant, and Daunis will be okay. Daunis relaxes and falls asleep. She and Jamie wake when they hear voices outside. Terrified, Daunis promises to find Ron and come back for Jamie. She says Levi is the weakest link and that she loves Jamie. Somehow, telling the truth right now seems important.
For now, Daunis isn’t in a good place to think critically about Jamie’s promises. For instance, it seems likely that Jamie and Ron would advocate for the FBI to pursue Grant—but as Daunis has made clear throughout the novel, federal agencies often are unwilling to intervene on behalf of tribal citizens, particularly women. Still, Jamie seems to believe that he’s telling the truth right now, and Daunis responds in kind. This strengthens their relationship, which they’ll need in order to work together to get out.
Themes
