Where the Crawdads Sing

Where the Crawdads Sing

by

Delia Owens

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Where the Crawdads Sing: Chapter 46 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
In October of 1969, Kya goes to Jumpin’s to look at the bus schedule. As she copies down the times, she tells him that she’s thinking of meeting her editor in Greenville. At one point, Jumpin’ looks closely at Kya’s face and asks what happened, and she realizes that the bruise from where Chase punched her hasn’t faded as much as she hoped, so she lies and says that she ran into a door. However, Jumpin’ tells her not to deceive him, pressing her to tell him who hit her. Finally, he guesses that it was Chase, and she admits that it was. This infuriates Jumpin’, but Kya implores him not to tell anybody, especially the sheriff. Still, Jumpin’ insists that something has to be done to teach him a lesson, though Kya reminds him that nobody will get a man like Chase in trouble for assaulting the “Marsh Girl.”
Once again, readers see the ways in which the various prejudices against Kya interfere with her life, this time preventing her from going to the authorities in the aftermath of Chase’s violence toward her. In the absence of institutional support, then, Kya has Jumpin’ and Tate, though both of them know better than to act on her behalf, respecting her autonomy by letting her respond how she wants to this unfortunate event.
Themes
Independence vs. Human Connection Theme Icon
Prejudice, Intolerance, and Acceptance Theme Icon