Previous
Chapter 2
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Vertigo, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Grief and Loss
Nature vs. Urban Life
Change and Personal Growth
Community
Summary
Analysis
In late November, Anna and Luke visit a nearby tree nursery to buy she-oaks for the garden. Afterwards, Alan and Bette suggest that the four of them have lunch at the Wolga hotel. The weather is nice as they eat on the hotel’s veranda, and Anna feels like she might be alright after all. Back home, she plants the she-oaks in the garden, arranging them in a disorganized way so that they look wilder. Luke, Anna, Gil, and the Watts celebrate the new garden at Luke and Anna’s house, taking the lack of wind as a good omen. After their visitors have left, Luke and Anna make love in the living room. Then they sit out on the veranda and drift into a contented sleep.
Despite her recent crisis, everything finally seems to be improving for Anna. Her community of friends helps her escape from her worries (at least temporarily) and begin to develop into the kind of person she wants to be. The garden might represent Anna’s mental state at this point, as she fills it with beautiful new plants in the hopes that they’ll grow strong and healthy. For a moment, it seems like Anna’s life might finally be changing for the better, partly thanks to her new community connections in Garra Nalla. But the mention of the lack of wind being a good omen will soon become ironic as a new potential crisis arises.
Active
Themes
When Anna wakes up that afternoon, she’s surprised to see that the blue sky has been stained by a smudge of brown. She sees a cloud of smoke rising from behind the distant hills, and Luke remarks that it looks like a bushfire. Anna expresses concern, but Luke reassures her, saying that it’s far away at the moment. Alan approaches the house to retrieve his wife’s forgotten sunglasses, and he also brings up the distant bushfire. Still concerned, Anna says she’s glad they live near the water. Alan insists that there have been fires in this area before, but they never reach the coast.
News of the bushfire feels ominous from the start, as the natural beauty of the area threatens to erupt into flames. Just when everything seemed perfect, nature continues to test Luke and Anna’s willingness to stay in Garra Nalla, rather than returning to the relative safety of civilization. The first sight of smoke has a menacing aura to it despite Alan’s calm attitude. It seems likely that the distant bushfire heralds the arrival of a significant change, whether for good or ill.
Active
Themes
The next morning, Luke and Anna awake to find that the air around their house is full of smoke, obscuring the landscape outside. It’s clear that the fire is still quite far away from them, but the smoke clouds make the house stifling hot all day. That night, they find themselves almost hypnotized by the sight of the distant mountain range burning. Though they know the fire isn’t near and they’re probably being paranoid, they still have trouble sleeping in the sweltering heat. Anna wakes up at around three in the morning and cries to herself, thinking of the boy as Luke sleeps. She hasn’t seen the boy at all in weeks, and she wonders if they did something to offend him, and whether he might have abandoned them. She makes tea and feels comforted by the coziness of the kitchen, then she goes back to bed.
Luke wakes up Anna later in the morning and tells her that the bushfire has reached the foothills. Now that the fire is closer, they’re forced to take precautions throughout the house, such as filling buckets and the bathtub with water and having towels on hand. Later that day, the fire damages the power station in the hills, and Garra Nalla loses electricity. As the smoke in the air gets thicker, Luke says he’s going to go check on Gil, insisting that Anna should stay home and keep out of the smoke to avoid an asthma attack. Anna goes with Luke anyway, and Gil mentions that he's never seen a fire like this before. Nonetheless, he maintains that fires never reach the coast.
Active
Themes
Get the entire Vertigo LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Luke reads by candlelight back in his home that night, wanting to know the ending of his old book by Sir Frederick Treves. To Luke’s surprise, Sir Frederick finally arrives in a place that isn’t disappointing at the end of his journey. Treves describes the ancient city of Damascus as a beautiful and sweet-smelling place, full of romantic and inspiring sights. Luke reflects on how surprising it is that Treves has fallen in love with the Islamic city of Damascus of all places, despite being a Christian. Meanwhile, Anna works on her laptop and writes a message to her sister in Hong Kong. Despite the fire, Anna doesn’t wish she was somewhere else. She reflects on the strange sense of calm in the house, especially on a night like this, which should make her tense.
Later in the night, Anna’s feeling of calm fades and is replaced by a growing fear of losing the house. She imagines what would happen if the bushfire does reach the coast, and wonders if they’ll ever have a home that won’t be constantly threatened. In a fitful sleep, she dreams that she’s in a burning department store full of possessions she didn’t know she owned. In the dream, Luke tells her that they need to hurry out of there, but she keeps rummaging through the items in the store, desperately looking for the boy, whom she doesn’t want to leave behind.
Anna wakes from this dream with her heart pounding, but she’s relieved to hear that the wind has dropped. Over breakfast, Luke tells her that the authorities have issued an alert for every town along the coast, including Garra Nalla. He explains that the wind is due to pick back up again in the afternoon. On their battery radio, they hear that the Wolga hotel—where they dined just a few days ago—has burned to the ground. Later that morning, Alan calls and tells them that Bette can’t decide whether or not to take the kids away from town until the fires have died down. Alan insists that it’s not safe to drive while there are fires raging, and he suggests that the two couples play tennis. Anna is bemused by the idea, but Luke figures playing a game is better than waiting around in dread.
Active
Themes
Anna thinks that they all must be mad as she, Luke, and the Watts play six games of tennis under the churning, smoky sky. When they’re all too exhausted to play anymore, they go home to shower, then they meet again on the headland to watch the fire’s progress. After seeing the burning sandhills and noticing a plume of smoke on the horizon that wasn’t there yesterday, they head home again and wait to see what happens. Luke works on his laptop, but Anna feels restless and jittery, feeling like she needs a manual task to keep her mind occupied. That afternoon, the sky turns grayish yellow as the wind picks up, and a strange light descends on Garra Nalla. Anna still feels nervous as the house and the garden are shaken by the howling winds.
Active
Themes
Even Luke is frightened as the wind gets stronger. He tells Anna that he has to go back to the headland to see what’s happening. He once again worries about Anna’s breathing in the smoke, but she insists on going with him. After shielding her nose, mouth, and eyes with a scarf and sunglasses, Anna and Luke stagger up to the headland. Many of the other townspeople (including Gil and Alan) are already gathered to watch the blaze while shielding their eyes. An explosive firestorm has developed in the distance, and the onlookers watch in shock as faraway houses and trees burst and incinerate. They watch for an hour, and several townspeople use rakes to keep flammable material away from the fiery projectiles flinging towards the town.
Active
Themes
Eventually, Gil points towards the horizon and tells everyone that the wind has changed direction; it’s no longer blowing towards Garra Nalla. As they watch the burning sandhills, they see the fire struggling to move towards them, and Gil remarks that maybe the worst of the firestorm is behind them. This seems to be the case, but Alan and Luke point out that they should nonetheless stay and keep watching, just in case. Just then, Bette points to the north and shouts for everyone to look in that direction. A massive smoke cloud, surging with flames, is headed right for them. As Gil starts to wonder how it moved up the coast so quickly, the cloud emits a searing fireball that sets a canopy of brush aflame. Immediately, the group scatters and runs.
Active
Themes
Alan yells to Bette, telling her to take the kids down to the beach where they’ll be safer from the fire. Luke tells Anna to go with Bette, but Anna refuses as the two of them sprint through the smoke towards their house. After rushing in through the backdoor, they quickly scramble for wool clothes in the bedroom. Luke considers putting on his favorite heavy sweater, but he decides against it and tosses it onto the bed. Meanwhile, Anna submerges towels in the full bathtub and rolls them up into tight, wet ropes that can be jammed against the doors. As Anna rushes out into the garden to join Luke, a fireball begins to consume the yard with incredible suddenness. Luke yells for Anna to get back in the house. They both rush inside and slam the door behind them as the flames crackle and rage through the garden.
Active
Themes
Horrified, Luke and Anna watch the flames outside, realizing that there’s likely no safe means of escape. They soon hear the sound of a fire truck as it swiftly backs into their garden. A fireman jumps from the truck and yells at the couple to climb in. With Luke and Anna in tow, the truck speeds out of the burning yard in the nick of time. The truck stops by the lagoon, where many of the townsfolk are already taking refuge in the water. After thanking the firemen, who only showed up at the house by sheer luck, Luke and Anna wade into the lagoon themselves. Anna’s thoughts race as she wonders if anything is left of their house. Luke asks if she’s alright, and she testily answers yes, knowing that anger is the only emotion that will get her through this crisis.
Active
Themes
Luke and Anna look around for Gil and Alan as they listen to the distant roar of the fire, but with no luck. After night falls, a police car pulls up to the lagoon. A man with a megaphone steps out and tells the townsfolk that they’ll be given dry clothes and taken to a nearby church to spend the night. He explains that they can’t return to their homes because the entire town has become a possible crime scene. The police will be looking for signs of arson, even though the townsfolk know for certain that it was just a particularly bad firestorm.
Active
Themes
At the church, the people of Garra Nalla rest on many mattresses strewn about the floor of the large hall. Anna sees a limping and singed old woman walk by, telling a fireman that she can’t blink without it hurting. Relief workers provide supper for everyone, but Luke only takes one bite of his sandwich before his adrenaline wears off and he falls into an exhausted slumber. Anna watches him lovingly, thinking of how typical this is; Luke really could sleep anywhere. She lies awake for a while before dozing off, but the cry of a baby in the hall wakes her, and her arm brushes a child by her side. She realizes with overwhelming relief that it’s the boy, who’s returned to her at last. She watches him sleep and caresses him, murmuring to herself that she knew he was indestructible.
Active
Themes
In the morning, a constable informs the townspeople that they’re lucky: the fire somehow only destroyed three houses in all of Garra Nalla. He explains that two unoccupied shacks and one family’s house were claimed by the fire, but the rest of the houses are intact. Luke and Anna can hardly believe this until they see the house for themselves, surrounded by the charred remains of the garden but still standing. Inside, a thin layer of ashes covers everything, and Luke notices a dead bird in the middle of the floor. He realizes that this is the same owl-like bird that stared at him some time ago. Anna is surprised and exasperated to see how upset Luke gets over this bird’s passing. She finds herself feeling angry with him again; after all they’ve been through, why is he upset by this one bird?
Just as Anna is about to take a shower and get rid of all the filth from the fire so she can think more clearly, she notices something in the bedroom. Luke’s favorite wool sweater, which he had left sitting on the bed, has a black hole in it. She realizes that an ember must have blown in during the firestorm and landed on the sweater, where it burned itself out without setting the sheets (and the house) ablaze. Anna almost feels like crying, but she’s too tired and doesn’t have the energy. Just then, she hears Luke calling for her. She finds him on the veranda, watching Gil raking charred embers away in his yard.
Active
Themes
Luke and Anna immediately pay Gil a visit, and he cheerfully confirms that the Watts were evacuated to a nearby town, and that they’re probably back in Garra Nalla by now. In fact, no one in Garra Nalla died during the blaze. Somehow, the little town survived an incredible firestorm. Alan later describes the fear he felt as he clung to rocks on the beach as the fire approached. He was afraid that his kids would get swept away into the ocean, so he was really more afraid of the water than the fire in that moment. Gil confirms that “it’s all different when your kids are with you,” and acknowledges that they were all relying on pure luck, even the children.
Active
Themes
That evening, Luke leaves the house without telling Anna. He walks in an area of nature reserve nearby, where the fire scorched everything in sight, leaving no plant life intact. As he wanders in this desolate place full of ashes and charred remains, he weeps as he’s mentally transported back to a terrible day two years ago in the hospital delivery room. Anna had just had a miscarriage, and the broken landscape around Luke reminds him of the pale, lifeless body of their unborn son. On that dark day in the hospital, a counsellor asked them if they wanted to name the boy. Numbly, they agreed, as it seemed like the right thing to do. But in the end, they only ever thought of him as “the boy,” as this felt somehow more intimate.
The sweater that Luke left on the bed was the sweater he had worn on another day he wanted to forget. He had worn it on a cold day when he and Anna cast the ashes of their unborn child into the sea. Luke left the sweater behind during the firestorm because he didn’t want it to be damaged, and because it reminded him of the son they never had. But by leaving the sweater on the bed, Luke likely (though unknowingly) saved their house. If that lone ember had landed on the bedsheets instead of fizzling out on the wool sweater, the house would most likely have burned down.
Active
Themes
As Luke takes his walk, Anna nervously wonders where he could be. Bette guesses that he might be shell-shocked like Alan, who still stares out to sea as he processes what happened. Anna also tries calling her mother and telling her that Luke is nowhere to be found, but Anna is annoyed by how indifferent her mother sounds on the phone. Later that evening, Luke finally walks up the driveway in tears. Anna asks him if it’s that bad, realizing she’s never seen him cry before. Luke shakes his head and says he isn’t upset about the fire. She asks if it’s the boy, and he nods silently, standing still. She embraces him, and they stand in the doorway holding each other for a long time.
That night, Anna dreams of the boy waving in an open doorway. This is unusual, as the boy has never visited her in her dreams before. In her dream, she sees him waving in a perfect version of her garden, before the fire destroyed it. Before she has a chance to wave back, the boy dissolves into the sunlight. She wakes from the dream with tears in her eyes, and she cries silently for quite some time. Eventually, she stops crying and lies on her back, staring up into the darkness with dry eyes.
Active
Themes
In late December, the citizens of Garra Nalla gather for a large picnic to celebrate the survival of their town. Many of the townsfolk are still in shock or traumatized by the crisis, but Bette insists on having a party so the children can see that the adults are fine. Anna finds herself in a happy, drunken haze at the gathering, and she admires the men of the town speaking intimately with each other as she watches them. She tells herself that she’s ready to give life another try, as she can’t delay decisions forever. After all, if she waits too long, there might not be a future to live in.
Active
Themes
As these thoughts occur to Anna, she spots the boy in a skiff in the lagoon, paddling out to sea. She understands that he’s finally leaving them for good, but she feels ready to accept it. She waves goodbye and silently thanks him for staying with them for so long. At this moment, Bette happily points out that the black swans have returned to the lagoon. They haven’t been seen since the fire, and it seemed possible that they had flown away permanently. As the men look up to hear this joyful news, Anna waves to Luke and he waves back.
That night, Luke dreams of many kinds of birds. He groans in his sleep as he tries to see the mysterious owl-like bird: the bird he still doesn’t know the name of. Anna brushes her teeth and throws away a packet of pills as she gets ready for bed, but she doesn’t feel tired yet. She resolves to make some toast and watch the nightly news until falling asleep. Anna looks out the window and sees that somehow, some of her she-oaks in the garden were untouched by the flames. She listens to the eerie sound of the wind whispering through the leaves, remembering how it felt to go canoeing with Luke and the boy. Turning away from the window, Anna lies on the couch, picks up the remote, and flips the television on.
