Shelterwood

“Ron leans over me, his breath ruffling the loose hairs at the back of my neck. I fight the heebie-jeebies. The tragedy here feels fresh, even though it's not. I duck sideways then stand back to get a better look at him. The first thing you learn in interviewing witnesses—body language doesn’t lie. His evasiveness is evident despite the fact that his features are hard to make out in the haze beyond the flashlight beam.”

In the cave where three Choctaw girls were buried almost 100 years ago, Valerie feels a fresh sense of tragedy and worry. This sentiment echoes and reinforces the dual timelines of the novel, for the past unfolds alongside the present and exerts a strong influence on the more recent story. In this scene, Roy’s evasiveness and Valerie’s role as a law enforcement officer also speak to the novel’s use of conventions from the mystery genre to enhance the drama of the story.

“They look like small, skinny children, squatted outside our sleeping place, except that ain’t what they are. Can’t be. Not way out here in the woods, prowling before first light comes into the trees. Hoods hang over their heads to hide their all-black shiny eyeballs.”

Here, Olive is describing Tula, Pinti, and Koi, whom she initially assumes to be spooky elf children. Olive’s fear of the mythical “elf children” is a reflection of society’s difficulty with accepting the widespread presence of neglected and abandoned children. The elf children, who are really just young children struggling to survive on their own, embody the theme of Children’s Resilience Amidst Adversity.

“Auntie was a bit of a scandal, really. She championed the clubwomen’s horse wagon library, and sometimes drove it through the hills and dales to the tiny towns that had lacked for books. It was quite a bold undertaking for a female in the days when decent women didn’t stray from home alone. She knew Miss Kate and Gertrude Bonnin and was a fan of women who stepped outside their place. Scandalous women.”

The librarian, Mr. Wouda, describes several key historical figures to Valerie, providing crucial exposition for the 1909 timeline. This scene is an example of the strategic crossover between the novel’s two timelines, for “Miss Kate” will shortly appear in the 1909 storyline and will exert a powerful influence upon the politically savvy Olive. Additionally, the concept of “scandalous women” is one that Valerie appreciates and that the author celebrates. Both Olive and Valerie, along with key secondary characters, are “scandalous women” who speak out against injustice and advocate for social change.

“A sickness came one summer, and the old folks died right off and then later the ma. When they lived with only their pa, a man came and said the judge in the new court had wrote a paper that the three kids couldn’t stay with their pa alone, and the man was there to take the kids off to a school, where they could get educated and have good food every day. Their pa didn’t like what the man said, so he told the kids to sneak off to the woods and stay there while he traveled to Poteau to see about the judge, and maybe get a wife to help keep the family.”

This passage is a summary of what happened to Tula, Pinti, and Koi’s family. This pattern of assigning legal guardianship of Choctaw children to strangers is repeated throughout the 1909 timeline, reflecting the author’s attempt to draw attention to this deeply exploitative real-life practice. This pattern is a demonstration of Exploitation as a Tool of the Powerful, for in both timelines, white men with political power use the courts to take control of land and property that belong to vulnerable children and their families.

“Beyond the shallow canyon, Holson Creek shines through a gap in the trees, aquamarine and gemlike in the sun. Peaceful and pure. Why do people have to come to such beautiful places to die? The question is a mixture of memory and gut reaction.”

This passage opens with a reflection on beauty and of Nature as a Source of Healing and Refuge, as Valerie admires the rich colors and peaceful vibes of the mountain scene. However, this sense of peace is immediately shattered by the grim realization that an unnatural death has occurred here. Throughout the novel, Valerie feels this same tension between the peace of natural environments and the impact of human conflicts upon these landscapes.

“She talks a long time about why boys and girls both ought to be in school, and how, if a widow woman has to put her kids to work so her family can eat, now she can get help from the state of Oklahoma instead, so long as she follows the new law and keeps her children in school. It makes me think that when we get up the mountain to the old place, we’ll need to have a school.”

The “she” in this passage is Kate Barnard, the female politician whose speech Olive hears in Talihina. This moment marks an important moment in Olive’s path toward becoming a politician herself. Here, she is inspired by Kate Barnard’s words to create a school for the other children. This is the first step in Olive’s inspiration to have a career following in Kate Barnard’s footsteps.

“Placed under the control of county probate courts, these children are as defenseless as lambs among wolves. They are delivered into the hands of judges who award lucrative guardianships to political donors and heartless grafters who seek guardianships so as to steal the wealth of their wards. Money is spread thick from here to Washington, and the children suffer.”

Kate Barnard is the speaker in this passage. Her political advocacy on behalf of children, women, and laborers reinforces the theme of Exploitation as a Tool of the Powerful; her platform is built on her efforts to establish labor laws and to break the political pipeline that allows well-connected people to use their power to exploit vulnerable populations.

“I smile at his lean back and narrow shoulders, watch his small hiking boots find purchase on the path. ‘Good boy.’ Stress passes outward through my skin and gratitude settles in. It’s hard to imagine that eight years ago an accidental pregnancy seemed like the end of everything. It was the beginning.”

Valerie takes Charlie hiking, and they practice “forest bathing,” Valerie’s term for breathing in the peace and beauty of the woods. That peace and quiet provides Valerie with the opportunity to pause and appreciate her son and to revel in the chance to spend time with him. This moment underscores how important natural spaces are to Valerie, reinforcing the theme of Nature as a Source of Healing and Refuge. This passage also draws attention to Valerie’s maternal, protective instincts: another facet of her character that serves as important motivation when she seeks to help Sydney.

“A quick shake of his sniffling head, and then, ‘No… ’cause I looked everyplace for pieces, so maybe I could put it back together. I wanted to fix it, but I thought it was something good, Mom.’”

Charlie discovers a major clue in the mystery of the rockslide when he picks up an inert blasting cap on his hike with Valerie. Later, Valerie and a neighbor are terrified when they realize that Charlie picked up a potentially dangerous explosive. Charlie’s youthful naivete and optimism prompt him to pick up the strange object, and these childlike qualities advance Valerie’s understanding of her investigation. Charlie’s discovery reinforces the novel’s celebration of children’s unique qualities.

“It was nice, you giving food to those elf children. I wonder why some folks call them by that name, don’t you? It's like the old nursery stories about gnomes and fairies, except that these are real kids that just…come on hard times. They ain’t pretend. It’d be good for folks to know that in your paper.”

In speaking to the journalist Mr. Brotherton, Olive summarizes the symbolic implications of the “elf children,” pointing out the tension between the fairytale-esque name and the reality that these so-called elf children are real children who have been abandoned or driven out of their homes. In this moment, Olive both embodies and expresses Children’s Resilience Amidst Adversity. As one of the elf children herself, Olive demonstrates her perceptiveness and intelligence and impresses the journalist.

“[T]he sun scatters through the new spring leaves and a breeze stirs the branches. Leftover rain drips down like strings of pearls, and the songbirds wake the day with music even prettier than the Victor Victrola phonograph [...] Sounds and smells wrap tighter around me with every step. Home’s getting closer [...].”

Like Valerie, Olive also feels a strong connection to natural spaces and views Nature as a Source of Healing and Refuge. In this bright moment of optimism, Olive and the other children are walking toward the mountains, and she envisions that they will be able to establish themselves in safety once they arrive. Shortly after this moment, however, the story will take a turn with Olive’s realization that they cannot travel any further until Amos’s injuries have healed.

“It should have been me…Those words catapult my mind to another place. The change is so sudden everything around me fades. I’m at the top of a shapeless wall of rock, where the rescue of a stranded hiker has gone terribly wrong. Somewhere below lies the wreckage of gear, medical supplies, equipment…of Joel, of our lives, of everything that was good and right.”

In this emotional passage, Valerie continues to process her grief over the death of her husband, Joel. In this scene, Roy’s words after Edwin’s horseback riding accident prompt a sharp flashback to Joel’s accident and death eight years earlier. In many ways, her current struggles are deeply tied to her past experiences, and by solving the mystery of the illegal logging operation, she also finds a way to move on from her past and forge a new life in Oklahoma for herself and her son.

“I haven’t told the others yet, but I plan to name the new place Shelterwood Town, after the grandpappy oak my daddy loved. The roots spread even further than the branches, Ollie Auggie, you know that? he’d say while we lay underneath and looked into leaves and sky.”

The motif of the “shelterwood” recurs throughout the novel as Olive applies the name to her dreams of creating a new life in a safe place. This passage connects her concept of safety with natural places, reinforcing the theme of Nature as a Source of Healing and Refuge, and it also draws attention to her memories of her father. Olive’s father, though dead, remains a source of inspiration and wisdom for her, and she frequently draws upon his words and advice.

“But you have good instincts, Val. I think you’re right about Sydney, and I think you’re right about Alton Parker, even though I’ve known the man my whole life. The problem is, no matter how many ways I draw the lines, I can’t connect the dots. You may not want to hear this, but you have to face the fact that a break in the stone wall might not happen. If this investigation comes crashing down, the fallout will land on you.”

Here, Curtis is discussing the investigation with Valerie, and unlike most of the locals, he trusts her instincts and agrees with her theories about Sydney’s motivations and the true story behind Braden’s disappearance. Still, reaffirming Exploitation as a Tool of the Powerful, Curtis warns Valerie that Alton is very powerful and well-connected. He wants Valerie to understand that even if her suspicions are accurate, Alton might still be able to continue his spree of exploitation.

“Tula and me give each other the wide-eye. Peach pie means sticky-sweet tin cans in the rubbish. Me and Tula are gonna have us a treat from the burn bin after Flannery gets the twins down for their nap and makes that pie.”

Shelterwood includes many depictions of Children’s Resilience Amidst Adversity. This passage offers a prime example of this dynamic, for although Tula and Olive must hire themselves out to do laundry, which is hard work for young girls, they are savvy enough to take advantage of opportunities to improve their lives, even in small ways. At this moment, they plan to go through the garbage to retrieve empty cans of peaches so that they can lick the insides. Their gleeful excitement over this prospect also draws attention to the dire nature of their circumstances, and the scene implies that these two girls should not have to endure a situation that causes them to be excited about finding a “treat” in the trash.

“That’s how Shelterwood Camp gets Cora and Effie, who’re Choctaw freedmen like Amos. […] That makes ten of us in all, counting old Gable, or nine when he’s out wandering with Milk the mule. Cora is smart at setting deadfall traps and snares to catch wild game, so she ain’t bad to have around [...].”

Before their camp is discovered, Olive has taken eight other children under her wing. This is a powerful characterization of Olive as a responsible, stubborn, and proactive person. These qualities will carry her into her adult life when she becomes a stalwart politician by the name of “Budgie.” This passage is also an example of the recurring motif of shelterwood, and the narrative reinforces Olive’s role as a metaphorical shelterwood for the younger children whom she has gathered around her.

“With the noise of our own movement gone, I pick up the rumble of machinery and the hiss of hydraulics. Though a distance away, it travels on the wind. Another sound revs above it, then disappears, then rises again, also unmistakable. ‘They’re cutting trees.’ The reality hits me like a gut punch.”

This is the climactic scene of the 1990 timeline, when Valerie and Curtis find Alton’s clandestine logging operation and meet Rachel and Braden in the woods. The discovery of Alton’s illegal activities corresponds with the characters’ dismay over the wanton environmental destruction that has occurred here. Valerie has a visceral reaction when she sees how much damage Alton has done to the land. Her emotional response underscores the importance of the natural world for her personally and for the novel’s broader thematic focus.

“A hand clamps over my arm, a man’s hand, big and strong. It lifts me up like I weigh nothing at all, and I figure I’m in for it from both Mrs. Tinsely and the parson. Stumbling up the stairs into the church house, half-carried, half-dragged, I try to think of what I can say to get past this trouble, but soon as we’re in the door I know that’s not the parson who’s got me by the arm.”

This scene is taken from the climax of the 1909 timeline, when Olive is caught by Tesco Peele. She manages to elude him, but when she returns to Shelterwood Camp, she finds that it has been raided, and everyone but Nessa and Koi is gone. The violence of this scene reflects Olive’s fear and the danger that she and the other children face if they are to be returned to the care of their legal guardians—the unscrupulous men who do not have their best interests at heart.

“Through the gaps in the buildings, I see the Winding Stair, tall enough to hold up the whole sky. I stare so hard I stumble over my too-small boots. Hauling me up by a handful of rucksack straps and hair, Tesco gives me a hard shake. ‘Ain’t nothing up there gonna help you. That mountain where Keyes Radley built his hiding place? Lockridge Timber Company is gonna cut it bare [...].’”

In a moment of crisis and fear, Olive looks to the mountains and the memory of the man she knew as her father, seeking Nature as a Source of Healing and Refuge. Notably, Tesco’s threat that the timber on the mountain will be clear-cut connects the 1909 and 1990 timelines, indicating the thematic connections between Lockridge and Parker, whose unscrupulous activities mirror each other across the timelines.

“On a whole, what I feel from her is an unexplainable sense of…peace. She seems as if she has grown from the forest itself and has always been in this place.”

This passage depicts Valerie’s thoughts and reactions when she sees an aged Nessa sitting by the campfire in Braden’s mountain camp. Nessa embodies peace and belonging for Valerie, with the imagery of the passage describing her almost as if she is the energy of the forest manifested in the body of a woman.

“‘This isn’t a game,’ I say. ‘Parker took your sister from Mrs. Wambles’ place and tried to strong-arm the details out of her.’ I’m still struggling to figure out the details myself. How have Braden and Rachel managed all of this? [...] These two teenagers are incredibly lucky they didn’t get caught.”

This passage expresses the tension inherent in the theme of Children’s Resilience Amidst Adversity. Valerie is frustrated with the fact that Braden and Sydney have been in serious danger because of Alton Parker’s actions. At the same time, she is impressed by Braden’s accomplishments and his ingenuity. This echoes the author’s thematic assertion that children are capable of incredible things but should nonetheless have the help and protection of caring adults.

“‘A long time ago,’ the woman begins, ‘three girls lived in an attic. Two of them were little Choctaw girls, Hazel, who was thirteen, and Nessa who was six. Hazel and Nessa were orphan wards of the parents in the house, and they shared an attic room with Olive, who was eleven. [...] Tonight I will tell you what is true. What was lived by these three young girls, if you would like to know.”

In this passage, the elderly Nessa is telling her story to Valerie and Curtis. Nessa refers to herself in the third person until the very end of her story, keeping her identity a mystery to her listeners. This passage offers a clear, detailed summary of everything that happens in the 1909 timeline, and it also concludes Olive’s story. Nessa’s summary serves as a bridge between the past and the present, connecting the two timelines and explaining what happened to Olive and Nessa between 1909 and 1990.

“Inside Ollie and me, there was always this forest, that one summer in the wild, and the vision of building a new place, a better place, a place where children could be safe.”

These lines come at the conclusion of Nessa’s story. As the narrative draws to a close, Nessa reasserts her positive belief in Nature as a Source of Healing and Refuge. The epilogue continues in this same spirit, expressing confidence that justice will be served and that the memory of the Shelterwood children will be honored in the national park.