“Standing there in the forest on her own, she didn’t feel strong. And she didn’t feel happy. But she finally felt as if she could go on.”
Challenging the system and being on your own in the process is a brave move for anyone let alone a young teenager. After learning some truths about the padaran rule, Willa is banished from the community and the only life she has ever known. What lies beyond is a world full of day-folks who she has been taught from a young age are bad individuals. In this instance, Willa is helpless and unhappy but her inner voice encourages her to believe in herself. The narrative affirms the importance of taking responsibility and doing the right thing even when you lack support.
“He had learned the language of the day-folk, but he had forgotten the language of the wolves. Did that make him a supreme being? Or a lesser one?”
Willa is the hope of the Faeran people although none of them is aware of this fact. The padaran has fostered the cultural erosion that is taking place around them without their knowledge. Willa discovers that the leader has other hidden agendas that threaten the cultural heritage of the Faeran people. She is the first to notice that the clan has abandoned their old way of life and adopted the settlers’ culture. The narrative also highlights the forced assimilation of the Cherokee tribes, which corrupted their cultural identity. In the quotation, Willa contemplates the lack of connection to the natural world that their leader exhibits.
“It’s true that we humans can do terrible damage, but we can do good as well.”
The Faeran clan believes all day-folks are out to destroy their world and their human nature is irredeemable. Willa’s interactions with the humans give her a new perspective of their drives, passions, and kindness. In the same way her clan has evil and greedy individuals, humans have folks from both sides of the spectrum too. Nathaniel helps Willa and explains to her how humans have contributed to their environment as much as they have. Although human interference has led to environmental devastation, they have planted sourwood trees and introduced bees into their ecosystem.
