Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Childhood vs. Adulthood
Memory, Perception, and Reality
Knowledge and Identity
Fear, Bravery, and Friendship
Summary
Analysis
Two days later, the narrator receives a letter: it’s confusing, so the narrator takes it to his mother. She explains that the narrator won the Premium Bonds, which his grandmother bought for him when he was born—he’s won 25 pounds. Twenty-five pounds is more than enough to buy lots of candy—but the narrator’s mother insists on putting the money in his account instead. That afternoon, Mr. Wollery, who attends to the gardens, discovers a bottle filled with small coins, all from before 1937. The narrator spends the day shining them and goes to sleep happy and feeling rich.
The narrator’s excitement about winning the bond and about Mr. Wollery’s discovery speaks to his childish innocence—his desire to buy candy is simple and youthful. His happiness can’t even be compromised by his mother’s insistence on putting the money in the bank, thereby shutting down his dreams of buying candy for now—the knowledge that he has the money to buy candy is enough to keep the narrator happy.
Themes
The narrator dreams that he’s having a bad day in school. Kids chase him, along with his grandfather and his grandfather’s friends. The tormenters catch up to the narrator, and a waxwork of his grandfather shoves something sharp and metallic into the narrator’s mouth. The narrator wakes up choking. He shoves his fingers into his throat as far as he can go and pulls something out. He vomits a bit of blood and without looking at the thing in his hand, he runs to the bathroom and washes his mouth out. Then, he opens his hand and finds a silver shilling. He wants to tell someone about it, but he’s not sure who to tell—adults never believe anything he says, true or not.
When the narrator’s grandfather appears in his dream and is the one to shove the shilling down the narrator’s throat, this alludes again to the narrator’s sense that adults are all-powerful. Even in his dreams, adults can force him into something he certainly wouldn’t choose to do himself. When this dream turns into reality, it then makes it clear that the narrator is dealing with something he knows nothing about. His usual way of understanding the world and how he fits into it won’t help him solve this mystery.
Themes
The narrator then goes outside, and his sister accuses him of throwing coins at her from the bushes. The narrator heads down the drive and sees Lettie Hempstock. She asks if the narrator was having a nightmare and listens to what happened. She simply agrees when he says that nobody put the shilling in his mouth and that he didn’t throw coins at his sister. When the narrator asks what’s going on, Lettie says that someone is doing a poor job of giving people money. It’s “stirring things up around here that should be asleep,” which is bad. She also confirms that this has something to do with the opal miner and then invites the narrator to have breakfast. As they walk, Lettie tells the narrator about the bad things happening to people in houses along the lane.
Again, Lettie clearly knows more than the narrator does and far more than she’s willing to let on. She seems unsurprised that the narrator found a shilling in his throat and even less surprised that this is the work of some sort of supernatural being that’s “stirring up” mysterious things that should be lying dormant. This makes it clear to the narrator that Lettie is someone he needs to trust and listen to if he wants to figure out what’s going on and understand this new, supernatural world that apparently exists alongside his own.
Themes
When the narrator asks why he found a shilling in his throat, Lettie says that the opal miner just wanted people to have money—but it’s complicated. His death started something, and now, something else is wreaking havoc. Lettie says something about another neighbor and the narrator asks how she knows these things. Lettie explains that she’s “been around for a bit,” so she knows things. The narrator confirms her age and then asks how long she’s been 11, but Lettie just smiles in response. When they pass Caraway Farm, the farmers are shouting at each other. Lettie explains worriedly that they’re fighting over money and that the husband suspects his wife is “doing bad things” to earn money—he found bills in her purse that she can’t account for.
In alluding to the fact that she’s “been around for a while,” Lettie essentially admits that she’s been alive for much longer than 11 years—even if she has physically been an 11-year-old the entire time. This suggests that Lettie may be at an odd crossroads: she seems wise beyond her years and as though she’s seen far more than a normal 11-year-old, but it’s still possible that she has the maturity of a preteen. However, it’s significant that obscures what’s actually going on with the neighbors at Caraway farm. The husband likely thinks that his wife is earning money through sex work, but Lettie may think the narrator is too immature to grasp this. In this case, then, she’s taking on the role of an adult to protect the narrator.
Themes
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The narrator asks if all of this is really about money—but Lettie admits, in a way that makes her seem frighteningly grown-up, that she’s not sure. She assures the narrator that they can fix it after they eat pancakes. When they’re finished, the narrator admits he’s afraid. Lettie insists he’ll be safe and that she won’t let him be harmed, but Old Mrs. Hempstock bursts in, worried that someone is hurt. Lettie tells Old Mrs. Hempstock about the narrator’s shilling and about what else is happening. Old Mrs. Hempstock carefully inspects the shilling and says it’s brand-new, even though it’s dated 1912. She impresses the narrator by explaining that the electrons are “too smiley for 1912,” so the narrator compliments her eyesight. She guffaws that it’s not as good as it once was, given her age.
It’s somewhat unclear if the narrator thinks Old Mrs. Hempstock is being funny when she talks about the electrons or if he takes her seriously—but given the Hempstock women’s understanding of the supernatural, it’s likely she’s being serious. As the narrator listens and allows Old Mrs. Hempstock to tell him about this, he learns more about her and why he should trust her, and he gets more of an introduction into the way the Hempstocks see the world. Clearly, they see things that he can’t.
Themes
When the narrator asks how old Old Mrs. Hempstock is (in his experience, old people like to share their ages), she simply says she’s old enough and that she remembers when the moon was made. The narrator asks if a ghost is haunting them, which makes Lettie and her grandmother laugh. Lettie explains that ghosts can’t make or move things and runs to get the younger Mrs. Hempstock. The narrator helps Old Mrs. Hempstock arrange her daffodils and feels very important and grown-up. Then, he accepts a lump of honeycomb and eats it with a spoon. Mrs. Hempstock arrives and scolds her mother for giving the narrator honey, but Old Mrs. Hempstock says she’ll just scold the bacteria in the narrator’s mouth.
Even if a ghost isn’t to blame for this particular problem, Lettie confirms that in the Hempstocks’ world, ghosts are something they must contend with. This continues to build the narrator’s understanding of the world he lives in and how it interacts with the supernatural world that the Hempstocks inhabit. Old Mrs. Hempstock’s choice to let the narrator help her arrange the flowers helps him see that the Hempstocks are friends who care for him. They want him to feel meaningful and as though he has friends here.
Themes
Mrs. Hempstock tells Lettie to take a hazel wand and the narrator to find “her,” but Old Mrs. Hempstock says it’s too dangerous to take the narrator. Lettie begs until her grandmother relents. Old Mrs. Hempstock reminds Lettie of what she must do, but Lettie brushes her off and insists they’ll be fine—but presently, the narrator recalls that they weren’t fine.
Especially since the narrator says outright that he and Lettie aren’t going to be fine, it suggests that Lettie’s understanding of what she’s getting into may be closer to that of a normal 11-year-old’s than the ancient being she probably is. She is, like the narrator, just a child.
Themes
