Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Moon of the Crusted Snow, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Technology, Society, and Survival
Colonialism, Oppression, and Trauma
Selfishness vs. Selflessness
Gender, Power, and Wisdom
Summary
Analysis
Nicole wakes Evan up—she had a weird dream, and she’s scared. In Nicole’s dream, she was trying to run across the snow with Nangohns and Maiingan, but she kept sinking deeper into it. Evan was nowhere to be found, and the kids (speaking in the elders’ voices) told Nicole that they’re going to make it. The snow started burying her, but the kids pulled her out. On the surface, there was a fire with a crowd standing around it. The kids were adults, and Nangohns said “welcome home,” just as Nicole woke up. After Nicole tells Evan this, he calms her, saying that it was just a dream—but he stays awake, worried.
Nicole’s dream predicts that her children will survive the harsh winter and grow into adulthood, and that Nicole’s bond with them will give her strength to successfully seek safety with the community (represented by the crowd). The story’s adult male characters are notably absent from Nicole’s dream, suggesting that the community’s women will prove essential to its survival.
Themes
