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Chapter 12
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The White Girl, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Colonial Violence
Dignity and Resilience
Loss
Love and Family
Power
Summary
Analysis
When they arrive, the noise and bustle of the city overwhelm Odette and Sissy. Luckily, Jack Haines finds them on the crowded platform. When he asks why they came, Odette answers honestly: to find her daughter (Lila), whose last letter placed her in the capital city two years earlier. Jack says it won’t be easy, but if Odette gives him her daughter’s name, he’ll see if anyone in the Aboriginal community knows anything. Odette expresses shock, given that Jack’s certificate forbids him to associate with his own people. But he says it’s different in the city than in small towns. It’s easier to get lost in the crowd.
One of the reasons Jack’s decision to apply for an exemption so bothered Odette was that it seemed like capitulation to White society’s desire to divorce Aboriginal people from their culture and their families. But she has spent her entire life in tiny, rural Deane. Attitudes have changed elsewhere, and even if they hadn’t, surveillance is functionally harder in the cities, especially for a generation of children who, like Jack, were raised in residential schools that taught them the skills they need to avoid drawing unwarranted attention to themselves. Jack’s willingness to help demonstrates that he does understand and value the importance of family.
Active
Themes
Jack even invites Odette and Sissy to stay with him and his family for a while, but Odette declines. He writes his address down for her on a scrap of paper in case she changes her mind and promises to see what he can find out about a Lila Brown who might have worked at a café called the Arizona. Finally, wishing her good luck, Jack bids Odette farewell.
With Henry as a major exception, Odette is used to receiving (at best) grudging or insufficient help from White people—Bill Shea’s travel document is a good example. But among her own people, there is an instant recognition of her humanity, combined with generosity and care.
Active
Themes
During Odette’s conversation with Jack, Sissy disappeared. Odette searches with increasing panic until a kindly, White porter suggests she try the Traveller’s Aid Society office and offers to give her a ride there on his baggage trolley. Sissy is at Traveller’s Aid, much to Odette’s relief. She explains that she slipped away to use the bathroom and then got lost. The kindly women working the office don’t seem to care who Odette and Sissy are or what their business in town is. One of them brings Odette a cup of tea and, when it becomes clear that Odette doesn’t have a place to stay, recommends them a nearby hotel.
At the hotel, Odette is slightly baffled by the process of booking a room, but the polite receptionist (later identified as Wanda) treats her kindly throughout. She even makes tea and sandwiches for Odette and Sissy to eat in their room. Before bed, Sissy discovers the bathroom, and she drags Odette down to see it, too. It is more luxurious than any bathroom Odette has ever seen, even in White people’s houses. The gleaming tile is sparkling clean; there’s a giant bathtub, fluffy towels, and soft bars of soap; and hot water flows out of the faucet automatically. Sissy draws a bath for her grandmother.
Active
Themes
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Odette can’t bring herself to climb into the warm bathwater. It seems too luxurious, somehow. And she is so very, very tired. After a little while, she drains the unused water and goes back to the room, lying to Sissy about how much she enjoyed the bath. She falls asleep as soon as she lies down on the top of the covers. It’s only at this moment that Sissy starts to understand how sick her grandmother has become. She climbs into bed next to Odette and snuggles in next to her familiar warmth.
Active
Themes
