CHAPTER ONE, TWO AND THREE

Summary
We are introduced to the story’s protagonist, David Strorm, who first describes a dream he
has of a city, much unlike anything he has ever experienced. His eldest sister, Mary, warns him
not to mention his dreams to anyone as it would be unwise. This statement introduces an
indifference which is then seen throughout the book, toward anything abnormal that doesn’t fit in
with the beliefs of the people. He took her advice, fortunately and goes on to describe his
encounter with Sophie. He met her while playing in his usual spot, and came to find out about
an abnormality she had- an extra toe. He thought nothing of it at first and agreed when her
mother asked him to keep it a secret. David made no connection between the toe and the
affirmation which he’d heard every Sunday of his life. As he was unaware of the seriousness of
the situation, he found that Sophie’s mother made a great deal of fuss over something so
“minor”.

David goes back home and describes his large house, giving background information about
his family along with their dedication to God which ran quite deep. His grandfather, Elias Strorm,
bred the principles of Wakunuk’s religion into Joseph Strorm, David’s father. Joseph married
after Elias died and was sure that his wife’s views harmonized with his own, unlike Elias’. At
present Waknuk was “an orderly, law-abiding, God-respecting community” which, needless to
say took their beliefs and rules very seriously. David also speaks of his father’s practice of
slaughtering and disposing of Offences: “things that did not look right”. Things such as
two-headed calves and four-legged chickens were immediately disposed of on sight. Crops with
anything abnormal about them were also gotten rid of and an entire field would be burnt if
necessary. His father had a keen eye for such Offences and as such, they had a great deal
more slaughtering and burnings than anyone else. Sometimes there was a debate on whether
or not something was in fact an Offence and in such cases an inspector was sent for. Overall,
the Waknuk district had a great name for Purity.
There were occasional raids yearly, which no one took much notice of except the ones who
were raided. Although, sometimes the persons in the Fringes, a place where many deviations
were said to exist, got very hungry and would come in large, organized bands doing much
damage. All that was done was the Government’s words of encouragement. The Fringes people
never raided nearer than ten miles deep but no one could be sure that they wouldn’t go further
in another raid.
In David’s household, there weren’t many members, just him, his mother, father, two sisters
and his uncle Axel, who was not a real relative. There were also kitchen girls and dairymaids
along with farm men with some getting married and having children. At the end of the day’s
work, they would all be seated for a meal. Angus Morton, who lives on a farm near the Strorm
family was also introduced along with his daughter Rosalind, David’s cousin. David lives on the
most prosperous farm in Waknuk but had little appreciation for this fact. He saw it as an
uncomfortable place with more jobs than people.

David takes Sophie to see the steam engine, on one of their usual meet-ups. He tells Sophie
about his uncle saying that the Old People (people who existed before Tribulation) must have
had better engines. Sophie counters with a clever statement: “if one-quarter of the things they
say about the Old People are true, they must have been magicians: not real people at all.” After
some arguing on the point, they went back home and Sophie’s father, John Wender was home.
David had an unspoken understanding with John, that they were on a man-to-man basis so he
dealt with David in a more grave way compared to how he would with Sophie. John was
revealed to be quite troubled by David knowing of Sophie’s toes.
A month after meeting Sophie, David was at home and was bleeding due to a splinter in his
hands. His mother was busy but had to wrap it for him, and in the midst of his apologetic words,
he said, “I could have managed it alright by myself if I’d had another hand.” Silence fell on the
entire room with his astonished and enraged father confronting him about the statement he’d
just made. He tried justifying his words by claiming that he wasn’t finding fault with God’s
creation and just stating a simple if. This, of course, was not enough to console his father who
went on the scold him about his sin. Knowing well enough that his father, in that mood, wouldn’t
understand, he went along with everything that was said. Everyone was then commanded, by
Joseph, to kneel and pray, which they did. David was sent to his room to pray for forgiveness
from God.
Later that night, in his room, David realized the seriousness of being anything besides
normal and thought of Sophie, with her extra toes. He then fell asleep, and had a dream. Just
like when an Offences was found in the farm, they gathered around to observe Purification.
Except this time, there was no calf or chicken. It was Sophie, bare-footed and trying uselessly to
hide her feet. She went to everyone crying for help but to no avail. Just like any other
Purification, Joseph he’d her with one arm and slit her throat with the other. David awoke that
night, struggling and crying, trying to assure himself that it was, in fact, just a dream.

Themes
Childhood Innocence
- This theme is explored as we can see the connection between innocence and David’s
inability to acknowledge Sophie as anything other than a normal child, just like himself.
Upon remembering the words he’d often heard which clearly stated that Sophie would
be considered blasphemy against God, he still found it puzzling. He’d imagine
blasphemies to be a frightful thing but Sophie, he concluded using his childish instincts,
was a normal child, just a tad braver and more sensible than most.
- It is also seen when David states his lack of appreciation for the prosperous farm he
lives on for the reason of it having too many jobs and feeling uncomfortable. His
innocence is displayed in him not being aware of the cravings most have for the wealth
that his family had.
Power and Authority
- This theme is explored with David’s father, Joseph Strorm, who clearly is able to control
the family as the man of the household, egs. When he tells everyone to bow and pray,
and they all obey, including David who did not agree with Joseph’s point of view.

Relationships
Sophie and David
Their relationship immediately started off with trust, as David became aware of Sophie’s biggest
secret on the first day they met. He displayed his trustworthiness by keeping this promise, as he
found nothing to actually be wrong with her. They became so close that David trusted her
enough to tell her about his dreams and only held back due to his lack of evidence, probably
because of how clever Sophie was, so evidence might have been needed. He started to care for
her, especially after understanding the danger she was in with her extra toes.

David and Joseph Strorm

Character Traits
David
● Caring: based on his care toward Sophie after realizing her situation properly

Sophie
● Clever: based on her response with David at the steam engine and her, despite being so
young, actually struggling to keep her toes a secret.

Joseph
● Authoritative: based on his ability to command the entire family or the simple fact that he
sits at the head of the table.
CHAPTER FOUR, FIVE AND SIX

Summary
One day David’s Uncle Axel, comes across David, who appears to be talking to himself.
Uncle Axel, as a joke, suggests that it would be more entertaining to talk to other people. Out of
his trust for Uncle Axel, who he considers to be his best friend among the adults, David tells him
that he was actually talking to Rosalind. After understanding that David is able to communicate
telepathically with Rosalind, he makes David promise never to tell anyone about this ability.
David, who never knew his uncle to speak with such a serious tone, promised while
acknowledging the intensity of the situation. After Axel suggests the David forget about the
ability altogether, David states the impossibility of the request and goes on to explain further
about it. He explains that he does not need to use words to communicate with Rosalind, but
rather can send her wordless images and thoughts. Uncle Axel also recommends that he no
longer carry out these conversations out loud. He tells David to have Rosalind promise to do the
same.
David does not inform Uncle Axel that there are others, besides Rosalind, with whom he can
communicate this way, because he does not want to worry him more. He does, however, tell the
other people with whom he can communicate telepathically about his conversation with Uncle
Axel. While no one of them had agreed to keep their abilities secret, none of them had told
anyone else about them either. They had before sensed disapproval from others about their
abilities, and as some sort of precaution. Uncle Axel’s warning strengthened their suspicions
and fear, making the situation somewhat more real. They promised never to share their ability,
making their first decision as a group. They were mostly interested in distributing the burden of
their secret, but that in retrospect, this was an important act of “self-preservation.”
Soon after this, a group from the Fringes launches an invasion of Waknuk. David’s father
organizes a counter-attack, during which the Waknuk militia captures a few Fringe leaders. A
group of soldiers brings the prisoners into town. David expects them to look strange or
deformed, but to him they look like unwashed but otherwise ordinary men. David is astonished
when he realizes that the leader of the captives, upon a closer look, appears almost exactly like
his father. His father notices the man as well, and an ill look soon appeared on his face. When
the two make eye contact, the Fringe leader returns his gaze with a look of hatred with such
intensity that David does not forget it for the rest of his life. When the leader dismounts from his
horse, David realizes that he is a foot-and-a-half taller than a normal man. The man motions for
David to come closer, and when he does, he asks David who his father is and whether the town
is called Waknuk. David replies that his father is Joseph Strorm and that this is, indeed,
Waknuk. Then the man is taken away. David later learns that the man managed to escape back
into the Fringes that night. David is upset by the encounter, but knows better than to ask his
father for clarification.
 Soon after, Joseph Strorm gets into an argument with Angus Morton, with whom he has a
long-standing disagreement, over whether or not the “great-horses” which Angus has newly
acquired, can be called an Offense. Joseph complains to the Inspector that the horses look
wrong, but the Inspector tells him that the great-horses are Government-sanctioned. Joseph
argues that any government that would approve these horses is “immoral,” to which the
Inspector responds that while that may be true, Joseph must obey their decision. The Inspector
further explains that the breed was created simply by mating for size, and thus they are still
“normal.” Joseph becomes increasingly enraged. He believes that by obeying the Government’s
ruling, he is betraying God. He asserts that even if the Government cannot properly identify an
Offense, he can. At church the next day, Joseph rails against the Inspector, who, in turn,
threatens Government sanctions against Joseph. David’s father is so unpleasant to be around
during this time that David spends most of his time teaching Sophie what he learns in school,
since her parents have kept her out of school so that no one will discover her extra toe.
He tells Sophie that Waknuk is in Labrador, and that when the Old People lived, it was a very
cold place. Below Labrador are the Badlands, which are extremely dangerous. David explains to
Sophie that no one knows how long ago the Old People lived, nor do they know how many
years passed between Tribulation and the beginning of known history. The Bible is the only
surviving text from the time of the Old People, as is Repentances from Tribulation. In his Ethics
class, David learns that civilization is “in the process of climbing back into grace.” There is only
one correct path for civilization to follow, and if mankind follows it, the people of Labrador will
regain everything they lost in Tribulation. David tells Sophie that this path is difficult to discern,
however, and so the people must rely on the decisions of “the authorities” as a guide to how to
live. While no one knows why Tribulation occurred, it was the greatest punishment of all time
and likely was a response to a period of “irreligious arrogance.” David does not tell Sophie,
however, that the purpose of life is to fight against the evils, or Offenses, created by Tribulation
so that mankind can return to the good graces of God.

Quote by Joseph Strorm: “Once we allow things that we know are not right, there’s no telling
where it will end.”

David and Sophie spend their summer exploring Waknuk for places they can play freely,
without Sophie being discovered by anyone. One day, they are barefoot at the river catching
shrimp, when a boy from David’s school, Alan, stumbles upon them. David throws Sophie her
shoes and tries to distract Alan with a bland, unwelcoming conversation, in an effort for him to
go away, but Alan still notices Sophie’s six-toed footprint on a rock. Alan demands Sophie’s
name, but David refuses to give it to him. Instead, he tackles Alan to give Sophie time to
escape. David buys Sophie a few minutes, but Alan is stronger than David and begins to beat
him furiously. Sophie hits Alan in the head with a rock, rendering him unconscious, and Sophie
and David flee to Sophie’s house. Sophie and David tell John Wender that Alan saw Sophie’s
foot, and John decides that it is time for his family to leave Waknuk. While he and Mrs. Wender
get ready to leave, Sophie explains to David that they must leave forever. The Wenders had
always kept bags packed and horses ready for a moment like this, when someone they could
not trust found out about Sophie. David asks the Wenders if he can join them. Mr. and Mrs.
Wender leave to discuss his request in private, but David can access Mrs. Wender’s thoughts,
so knows that he must stay behind even before they tell him their decision. They explain to
David that they want him to come, but that it will be safer for Sophie if he stays behind. Before
they leave, however, they ask David to spend the night in their house to give them a bit more
time to escape. Sophie gives David a lock of her hair to remember her, and the family rides
away on their horses. This is the first time David has spent the night in a house other than his
own, and he is frightened by the noises he hears coming from outside. He is so scared that he
wants to return home, but he stays in the house for Sophie’s sake. When he does return home
the next morning, he is met by the Inspector and his father, who is livid. The Inspector tells
David that he could go to jail for “the concealment of a Blasphemy,” and asks if his friend at the
river had six toes. David denies this, but his father asserts that he is lying. He takes the
Inspector’s horse whip, and, despite the Inspector’s protests, ferociously beats David.

After David grew calmer, he found that Rosalind was trying to talk to him and some of the
others too. He told them about Sophie as it wasn’t a secret anymore. He explained that a
person with a deviation wasn’t the monstrosity they had been told. They doubted his thought but
they had to believe him as you can’t lie when talking with your thoughts. They couldn’t console
him very much as they struggled to accept the idea and one by one they dropped out. When he
slept, it was full of dreams after staying awake, hoping that Sophie and her parents escaped
safely. He once again had the dream of Sophie where his father was disposing of her. He awoke
in a fright and was scared to sleep again but once he did, his dreams were of the great city
which he hadn’t dreamt of in years.
The next day, Mary told him not to get up for the entire day in order to heal his scars from the
dreadful beating. He laid there as told, considering what preparations to take for running away.
In the end he planned to steal a horse and run away to the Fringes. The inspector came to look
in on David in the evening with sweets. David was asked questions about Sophie which he
answered, given that there was no more harm that could be done. David justifies Sophie and
himself for concealing her, that the toes were awfully small to which the inspector responded: “It
is not the image of God, it is an imitation and in imitations there is always some mistake. Only
God produces perfection so although deviations may look like us in many ways, they cannot be
really human. They are something quite different.” With further discussion, the inspector tell
David that Blasphemies are not treated the same way as Offences but doesn’t speak anymore
on the topic when asked. He told David that since these mutants are made by the Devil, they
tempt us away from Purity. However, David couldn’t believe that Sophie came from the Devil.
Then David’s father came into the room, announcing that Sophie and her parents were caught.
David started to cry and whimper to which the inspector approached him, saying that he had
nothing to do with it, and it would have happened anyway.
A couple of days later, David told Uncle Axel that he was going to run away. His Uncle then
presented many reasons as to why such a rash decision would not have made much sense at
that point. Uncle Axel explains to David at great length what he knows about the rest of the
world. Much of this knowledge is based more on rumor than fact. He tells David of sailors who
visited the Badlands to the south and were shocked to find an abundance of mutated crops
because they had been taught to believe that nothing could grow outside of Labrador at all. He
calls the area “a jungle of Deviations,” and says that it is proof of the necessity of Purity Laws.
Further south are areas that are thought to be entirely desolate, although one ship reported
seeing the remains of an Old People city. Everyone on this ship became sick, however, so no
one else was willing to venture to the area to confirm the presence of an Old People city.
Instead, they chose to believe that the area south of Labrador was devoid of life—a belief that
pleased the authorities because it discouraged further exploration. Later on, Uncle Axel says,
people became curious again, and an explorer named Marther headed south. His journals
argue that the views of the church are wrong, and these areas could actually sustain life.
Marther was tried for heresy and the authorities considered banning voyages south. During the
controversy, a ship thought to be lost returned to Labrador bearing rare metals and spices. It
was impossible to determine the purity of the spices, as they were not previously known to the
authorities. Orthodox believers abstained from eating them, while others argued that they were
the spices mentioned in the Bible. The desire for spices prompted more southward exploration.
Uncle Axel tells David that these lands are now known to be inhabited by people who either do
not abide by Purity Laws or have a different understanding of what a Mutant is. Indeed, in other
places, people who would be classified as Blasphemies in Waknuk consider themselves to be
made in the Image of God, and think that the Waknukians are Mutants. These communities
have in common the stories of the Old People, and the people in each place believe them to be
their true ancestors. Uncle Axel tells David that while this is hard to fathom, there is really no
proof that Waknukians are made in the Image of God. Their Definition of what is normal comes
from Repentences, which was written long after Tribulation, and thus might not present an
accurate picture of what Old People were like. While David finds what Uncle Axel has to say
vaguely interesting, he is mostly concerned with whether there are any cities outside of
Labrador. Uncle Axel says that there are not, and when David presses him, he assures David
that if there were any, they would know about them. Uncle Axel then reasserts that it is
impossible to know what the true Image of God really is. In fact, he says, David and Rosalind,
with their ability to communicate without words, might be closer to the true image, even though
in Waknuk he would be persecuted for this Deviation. David takes this opportunity to tell Uncle
Axel that he can communicate with others in this way as well, although he does not know their
names because names aren’t necessary in telepathic communication. Uncle Axel responds by
emphasizing again that it is impossible to prove what the true image really is.

Quote by Uncle Axel: “if you run away from a thing just because you don’t like it, you don’t like
what you find either.”

Themes
Fear Of the Unknown
- Waknuk is a place where anything which does not fit into their definition of normal is
scorned and not accepted by any means unless somehow permitted by the Government.
They are unwilling to question their beliefs or try to understand the deviations, proving
their fear of them which resulted from their fear of God. For persons like Joseph Strorm
 who are willing to contest the Government (to a certain extent), this theme applies
greatly.

Relationships
David and Uncle Axel
Their relationship has a strong foundation of trust. Despite Uncle Axel being an adult and David
now understanding the grave reality of being abnormal to any extent, he still lets Uncle Axel in
on his telepathic abilities. He also accepts advice from Uncle Axel which explores further, the
closeness of their relationship.

Character Traits
David
● Clever: knows when to accept advice from adults that he trusts, even without fully
understanding the situation. Also the tactics he used in trying to hide Sophie from Alan.
● Trustworthy: “This is the first time David has spent the night in a house other than his
own, and he is frightened by the noises he hears coming from outside. He is so scared
that he wants to return home, but he stays in the house for Sophie’s sake.”
● Loyal: never stopped wishing the best for Sophie, until the end.

Uncle Axel
● Wise: when giving David advice, suggesting that he shouldn’t run away, his perspective
on things showed that he wasn’t ‘pig-headed’ and thought for himself, choosing what to
believe in.
● Caring: all advice that he gave David was for David’s benefit with no ill intent.
CHAPTER SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE AND TEN

Summary
One night, David hears a baby cry in his house. He was surprised because he had not
noticed that his mother was pregnant, and there was no baby in his house earlier that same
night. No one mentions the cry the next day because a baby cannot be called a baby until it is
issued a Certificate of Normalcy by the Inspector. The Inspector delays his house call as long as
possible to anger Mr. Strorm, and as a result, everyone in the Strorm house must pretend that
Mrs. Strorm has not just given birth. The wait is stressful for the family, particularly because the
last two times David’s mother has given birth, the children were not deemed normal. According
to Waknukian law, a husband may cast out a wife that bears three abnormal children.
Eventually, however, the child is deemed normal by the Inspector, and she is named Petra.
David tells the reader that no one could blame the inspector for his decision, because Petra
indeed looked like she would be normal.
A few days later, David’s aunt, his mother’s sister, Harriet came to the house to meet with
Emily Strorm, seemingly to congratulate her on the baby’s arrival. But to Emily’s surprise,
Harriet came with another intention. She said that Emily’s baby came as “God answering a
prayer” and it was soon found out that her baby was not, in fact, normal. Harriet describe it as a
little thing and Emily became outraged by the deceitful plan of Harriet to use Petra to get a
certificate for her baby. As it was the third time she’d bore a Blasphemy, Harriet would have to
be ster away without being able to bear a child for her husband, Henry. Joseph entered the
room and Emily asked him to send her away and take that with her, referring to the child. He
was confused at first but after becoming aware of the situation, immediately joined forces with
his wife. After justifying herself, though to no avail, she picked up her baby and left. The next
day, new of Aunt Harriet’s body being found in a river was given to David, although no one
mentioned a baby.

Quote by Aunt Harriet: “I am not ashamed - I am only beaten.”

David describes that Aunt Harriet’s suicide was the most disturbing event in his life so far. He
dreams of her lying in the river, holding her baby. The fact that even the slightest abnormality
could result in death frightens David, and he prays to God, as a desperate act, to make him
normal. The next morning, however, he is still able to communicate with Rosalind. David was so
young when Sophie had to flee that he did not fully understand what was happening, but he was
now terrified that someone will find out about his ability. David tells Uncle Axel about the
conversation he overheard between his mother and Aunt Harriet. Uncle Axel responds,
reinstating once more, that no one can be certain of what is normal. He questions why the
people of Waknuk spend so much time trying to emulate the Old People if they were destroyed
by Tribulation. He can’t understand why God might want to punish a people for sinning, but also
is unable to understand how the resulting deviations fit into that plan. To him, the rampant
mutations are “beneath the wisdom of God.” David quotes back to Uncle Axel the sayings he
has heard at church, but Uncle Axel tells stops him, saying that these are meaningless and
empty words, and that even the preachers themselves don’t understand them. Uncle Axel asks
a lot of philosophical questions about whether there is any point in trying to be like the Old
People in a world that is totally different from theirs, and one that might just end in another
Tribulation. David does not understand most of what he is saying. Uncle Axel, knowingly
speaking heresy, tells David that it is not what’s on the outside that defines a man, but rather his
mind. He does not take issue with the church’s insistence on getting rid of deviations—not
because he believes deviations to be impure, but rather unhelpful. He tells David that no one
needs multiple arms and legs. He believes that man’s mind is more important than his body, and
that David and Rosalind have reached a new level of the mind that they should value rather
than wish away.
David only starts to understand what Uncle Axel was saying when Michael (a member of the
group of telepaths) goes to school. One of the others in the group, Walter, had stopped
communicating, and everyone feared that his ability may have been found out. Uncle Axel
discovers, however, that this was due to an accident rather than someone’s finding out the
group’s ability. They decide to learn each other’s names—Michael, Sally, Katherine, Mark, Anne,
Rachel, and Rosalind—to avoid any future stress or confusion. Michael’s parents decide to send
him to school in a neighboring town, and Michael shares what he learns with the others in the
group. When the group thinks about his lessons together, everyone in it is able to understand
the lessons better than they could on their own. David enjoys his increased access to
knowledge, but notes that it also poses a problem for the group. Everyone needed to remember
how much he or she was supposed to know and to pretend to know less than they did. Although
there are a few slip-ups, they live for six years without being caught, until another person joins
their group.

David explains that Petra always seemed completely normal. One year during a harvest,
however, David is overwhelmed by the feeling of being struck in the head, and he is compelled
to run toward the source of the feeling. As he runs, he meets Rosalind, who is also running to
the source. The two find Petra, who is caught in the river and holding onto a bush to stay afloat.
When David exclaims that he hadn’t realized Petra was telepathic, Rosalind tells him that she is
different from them, and much more powerful; something different. While she and David can
communicate wordlessly, they cannot command or compel action from others like Petra
seemingly can. Eventually people from the town catch up to Rosalind and David to see what
they were running toward. No one understands how they could have known that Petra was in
danger, and Rosalind and David must lie and say that they heard her screaming. Rosalind
cleverly averts the situation, getting them out of it safely. That night, David dreams his old dream
in which his father kills Sophie, only this time, instead, he is killing Petra.
For the first time Rosalind and David’s ability puts them in real danger. David knows that he
must guard his secret carefully, and once again his recurring dreams are associated with stress
about discretion. In his semi conscious state, he can foresee that Petra is in danger. David tries
to communicate through thought-shapes with Petra to tell her to conceal her ability, but he is not
able to reach her. He wants to talk to her about it, but Rosalind tells him that she is probably not
aware of her ability and that it would be dangerous to trust a six-year-old with such an important
secret. Their ability has now come to feel more like a burden than a gift. They must constantly
hide and lie to maintain a semblance of normalcy.
The crops in Waknuk have a particularly bad year, and many are deemed Offenses and
destroyed. Jacob, a farmer, tells David that the failed crops are a punishment for the fact that
people have become lazy about destroying deviations. He complains that the Government is not
giving out punishments harsh enough to deter people from sinning. When he was growing up,
he says, deviations were burnt. David is horrified, but Jacob tells him that Blasphemies are no
longer burnt, although he wishes they were because they are not human. Instead, they are
stripped of their ability to reproduce and cast out into the Fringes.

Anne forms the group that she will marry Alan—the same person who reported Sophie for
her Offense. The group protests, saying that it will be too difficult for her to feign normalcy. To
them, marriage to a norm seems impossible because it would mean relying on words for
communication. Anne is unbothered by this, and points out that the numbers in the group work
out so that two girls would have no one to marry. She argues that it is unfair for two girls to be
denied the happiness that comes with marriage simply because there are not enough boys in
the group. Rosalind and David, she claims, are the only others who know what it is like to be in
love, so the others cannot understand how badly she wants to be with Alan. In order to be with
him more easily, she decides to stop using thought-images altogether.
David tells Uncle Axel, who knows about the wedding, that Anne is capable of think-together.
David, having had access to Anne’s feelings, explains to Uncle Axel that Anne wants to be with
Alan so badly that she is willing to jeopardize the safety of the group and give up, or at least
ignore, her ability. David likens this to the difficulty of “taking a vow of silence.” Uncle Axel tells
David that a woman in love is dangerous because she will sacrifice anything for her relationship.
He asks David whether it is ethically acceptable for Anne to endanger seven lives for the sake
of romantic love. Uncle Axel tells David about a sailor he once knew who was thrown overboard
so that the rest of the sailors would have enough food and water. David, catching his
implication, is adamant that the members of the group will not use force against Anne, even in
order to save themselves. When Uncle Axel questions his will to survive, David tells him that
while he and the others would be willing to murder a norm in order to survive, they cannot harm
one of their own. They are simply too close to one another. David says that he would rather be
killed himself than have a hand in killing Anne.
Anne’s relationship with Alan prompts David to reflect on his relationship with Rosalind, a
relationship he has had to keep secret because Rosalind is the daughter of Joseph Strorm’s
enemy, Angus Morton. The idea that they might be allowed to be together openly seems
impossible, and David is not even certain that he would be able to marry Rosalind if he were to
get her pregnant. Rachel, Anne’s telepathic sister, tells the group that Alan has been found dead
with an arrow in his neck. Anne believes one of the group is responsible for Alan’s death, and
she refuses to speak to Rachel about what has occurred. Michael suggests that everyone make
preparations so that they can flee if Anne decides to report them. The next morning, Rachel
goes to her sister’s house, only to find Anne dead, hanging from the rafters. Anne leaves behind
a suicide note outing everyone in the group, even Petra, and suggesting that they killed Alan.
Fortunately, Anne’s illiterate neighbor finds the note and, thinking it is meant for a family
member, gives it to Rachel rather than to the Inspector. Rachel does not tell the neighbor she
has read the address on the note incorrectly (it was meant to go to the Inspector), and when she
reads its contents, she immediately burns it. Alan’s death remains a puzzle to both the group
and the rest of the town.

Themes
Family
This theme is explored mainly when Petra comes into being and is found out, by David and
Rosalind, to have some sort of ability similar to theirs. David and Rosalind, both related to Petra,
decided to keep it for her, with consideration for her safety.

Relationships
The Telepathic Children
The telepathic children have a relationship based on trust and familiarity with one another which
started due to their abilities they shared. Having a trait in common which separated them from
the rest of society. As stated by David, “I’m much closer to her and the other than I am to my
own sisters.” This statement was his defense for why him and the others were unable to harm
each other, even if someone betrayed the group. They though in unison, hardly
misunderstanding each other, without any false thoughts being communicated. This tied them
closer to each other than to any ‘normal’ humans with inferior intelligence and abilities. They
experienced truly being comfortable as with normal people, they would have to hide their true
selves which was why Anne marrying Alan came as a major shock as he would never truly
understand her the way they did.

Character Traits
Rosalind
● Clever: the way she diverted the situation with Petra’s ability to communicate
telepathically successfully in such a short time. Also, her suggestion to withhold
information from Petra as it wasn’t necessary was an efficient and smart one.