Sal is the Mother’s daughter and Josie’s sister who died of disease at a young age. It was a painful event for everyone, and this prompted the mother to have Mr. Capaldi create a replica of Sal as a sort of grieving doll (which Miss Helen happens to see through a window), although the doll was apparently discarded soon after. The experience with Sal is what prompts the Mother to hire Mr. Capaldi to create a “portrait” of Josie (which is not really a portrait, but in fact a lifelike replica that will be filled with Klara’s consciousness if Josie ever dies).
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Sal Character Timeline in Klara and the Sun
The timeline below shows where the character Sal appears in Klara and the Sun. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part Two
...one photo, Josie has a companion—when Klara asks about her, Josie reveals that it is Sal, her sister, who has been dead for a long time (from a different illness than...
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...trip after all. The Mother talks about how the whole family used to come with Sal. Klara asks why Sal died, but the Mother doesn’t want to answer. She concludes it...
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Part Three
...that she was seeing and thinking clearly. Miss Helen believes she saw the Mother with Sal—except this was two years after Sal died. Klara agrees that this is a strange story.
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Part Four
...Mother still seems doubtful and mentions how things didn’t work out in the past with Sal.
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Mr. Capaldi suggests that what they did in the past with Sal was much less advanced, no more than a “bereavement doll.” What he’s working on currently...
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...She says she didn’t tell Josie everything, but that Josie is old enough to remember Sal’s doll and to figure some things out for herself.
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