The Grass Dancer

Anna is the story’s antagonist and a magician archetype. In her youth, she has no desire to use the magic she inherited from Red Dress. She is content with ordinary pleasures when she falls in love with Emery and has their son, Chaske. The modern home she lives in with her family symbolizes this rejection of traditional folklore in favor of modern convenience.

When Chaske dies, Anna transforms into a villain. She blames Joyce for going to the powwow instead of fetching a doctor, regardless of the likelihood of Chaske’s inevitable demise. Thus, Anna is using Joyce as a scapegoat. Anna also targets the culture itself as an outlet for her rage, due to Joyce’s prioritization of the powwow. Killing Bernadine by weaponizing the powwow and cultural dress becomes the perfect revenge.

However, this retaliation cannot heal Anna’s trauma. She continues to use magic to enchant men. By controlling these men, she doesn’t need to love or be loved by them and, therefore, will never suffer another loss. Calvin alone resists her charms, but he cannot evade her vengeance. Her magic becomes a symbol of her rage and a replacement for the family she lost. When she states, “I am not a fairy tale” (187), she communicates both the reality of her power and the unhappiness it has brought to her life.

When Crystal rejects the magic, Anna is content to replace Crystal with Charlene in hope that Charlene will engage in magical practice. This way, Anna can gain a form of immortality by living on through her granddaughter. Ultimately, Anna is still abandoned by Charlene as she was by Crystal. This results in Anna growing old alone, the fate she hoped most to avoid.

Herod is a sage archetype and a foil to Anna Thunder. While the two characters have many similarities, their choices place them in opposition to each other. They come from the same generation and have a similar connection to their culture and to magic, but Herod is a force for good. He is different from Anna in that he is a healer, the one thing Anna can never be. This earns him respect in the community, where Anna earns only scorn. People come to Herod when they need help, and even Anna is no match for the snakeskin belt charm that Herod gives Calvin.

Herod is the human incarnate of the medicine hole. He acts as a medium between the spirits and the living, the past and the present. He doesn’t learn he has this role, despite being a practicing Yuwipi, until he confronts the ghost of Clara Miller and his domestic tension with Alberta. He forgives his wife and expresses humility when he says aloud in the Miller house, “will you forgive me?” (94). This indicates his need to heal his own trauma before he can reach the next stage of his spiritual practice as the medicine hole.

Herod’s most pivotal relationship is with his grandson Frank. Unlike the relationship between Anna and Crystal, Frank is eager to learn the magical traditions that Herod practices. A major influence in the difference between the households is that Herod is motivated by the continuation of culture, while Anna is motivated by the continuation of self. Herod is rewarded for his commitment to his role in the community by his relationship with Frank, while Anna is punished by being left on her own.

Red Dress and Ghost Horse are the embodiment of Sioux resistance against colonization. Red Dress accomplishes this by refusing to accept Christianity, speaking Dakota, and taking on her mission against the fort. Although Ghost Horse play a smaller role in the narrative, his role as the fool archetype is important. His refusal to conform to societal expectations, even within his own community, reflects the broader struggle of resistance against colonization and makes him the ideal love interest for Red Dress.

Red Dress is chosen at infancy for her mission against the white settlers. The two snakes that appear by her side mirror the dual, opposing forces Red Dress must navigate and foreshadow the two stones she uses in her spiritual warfare. For Red Dress, magic is a tool to be used as a means of resistance. Her spirit animal further emphasizes her role as a symbol of resistance. Like a snake, she strikes at those who threaten her way of life. Although she is martyred during the course of her mission, she lives on through the repeated references to snakes in the narrative.

The relationship between Red Dress and Ghost Horse becomes the model for several other ill-fated relationships in the novel. Anna and Emery, Lydia and Calvin, and Harley and Pumpkin all experience similar tragedy. Anna believes she can repair this injustice by uniting herself with Calvin. Ironically, Anna’s attempt only perpetuates the cycle by severing the connection between Lydia and Calvin.

Hope remains in Harley’s future. Although he is not able to be with Pumpkin, his vision of Red Dress teaches him that he is “dancing a rebellion” (331) when he performs as a grass dancer. With this knowledge, Harley will be able to honor Pumpkin’s memory by rebelling against oppressive forces. This includes resisting colonization and breaking generational curses.

Lydia and Calvin’s relationship mirrors the relationship between Red Dress and Ghost Horse. Like his ancestor, Calvin is destined to be separated from the woman he loves. Ironically, their dynamic also follows a similar pattern to Anna and Emery’s relationship, which indirectly causes Lydia and Calvin’s ruin.

When Lydia and Calvin first meet, they are both living in rustic housing arrangements. Calvin is also struggling with alcohol use. However, once married, Calvin becomes a stable provider. He gives up drinking and their home becomes filled with modern conveniences. Lydia believes “certain things [aren’t possible]” (204) in a modern house, indicating both the safety and stability she feels and the distance she has placed between her family and tradition and the past.

The couple’s happiness and life of relative luxury makes them the target of envy, particularly from Anna. Anna uses Red Dress and Ghost Horse to justify her attempt to unite with Calvin. However, she may also be motivated by how closely Lydia and Calvin’s life reminds Anna of her life with Emery. Like Emery, Calvin has provided Lydia with all the domestic comforts she requires and is a dotting husband. By trying to take Calvin away from Lydia, Anna is trying to reclaim what she lost with Emery.

When Calvin dies, Lydia internalizes the blame. She metaphorically becomes “another person, the one who sits on her tongue… Silent Woman” (216). Her vow to remain mute is a way to punish herself and to protect Harley from her anger, which she believes caused Calvin’s death. Ironically, her muteness becomes a barrier between mother and son. Harley does not understand why Duane got to hear their mother speak and he does not. He falsely attributes it to his dead brother’s superiority in his mother’s affections. In the end, mother and son unite through their shared cultural values, leaving the reader with hope they will find ways to communicate that do not require spoken words.

Pumpkin’s presence in the novel is brief but highly impactful. She is introduced as a somewhat idealized character. She is uniquely beautiful, with red hair that separates her from those around her. She is a talented dancer and as charismatic in person as when she performs. In addition, she has been accepted into Stanford, which shows that her intellect is just as spectacular as her physical appearance.

Pumpkin represents the hope of the future. This is indicated through her ability to thrive in the Indigenous community as well as the broader society. Pumpkin dresses as a grass dancer and, in doing so, defies traditional gender roles. By doing this, she is a tool for the continual development of Indigenous practices, keeping the culture alive through new interpretations. Being a grass dancer allows Pumpkin to “step outside of [herself]” (34) as an individual and become a shining example of the collective.

Her acceptance to Stanford is another aspect of the hope she represents. Pumpkin has a promising future ahead of her. She can be a proud, Indigenous figure while also achieving feats typically outside of the realm of her cultural background. She quickly becomes Harley’s love interest and represent a sense of hope for his personal development. By sharing her soul with him, Pumpkin offers the possibility that Harley can feel whole and experience connection with others, something he struggles with before meeting her.

Pumpkin’s death is a horrible blow to all those who know her, particularly Harley. However, Pumpkin’s spirit lives on. Harley sees it when he goes to the scene of the accident and sees the figures of Pumpkin and her companions dancing in the grass. This vision indicates that tragedy may occur, but the spirit of hope that Pumpkin symbolizes is eternal.

Both Crystal and her daughter Charlene live under the threat of Anna’s interference. Neither Crystal nor Charlene approve of Anna’s use of magic to further her own interests, often while harming those around her. Crystal’s decision to leave Charlene with Anna indicates how desperate she is to leave Anna’s control. It is also is evidence of kind of model Anna is as a maternal figure. Crystal prioritizes her own needs above Charlene’s needs, just as Anna always prioritized herself above Crystal.

While Crystal is forming a new mother-daughter relationship with Isabel in Chicago, Charlene is reared by Anna in the same abusive manner Crystal formerly endured. Charlene sincerely wishes to distance herself from Anna’s actions, but this desire often results in her receding more from the community. Her retreat is obvious in her decision to stop competing at powwows to prevent Anna from meddling.

Charlene cannot help but compare herself to Pumpkin. As a symbol of hope, Pumpkin appears to embody everything Charlene wishes to have. This includes Pumpkin’s ability to thrive in the community and her immediate captivation of Harley’s affections. Even after she dies, Pumpkin still occupies Harley’s thoughts. When Charlene sees Harley dressed as a grass dancer, she resents that a dead girl is accepted in her community while she continually suffers rejection. She wonders, “[Harley is] dancing to honor [Pumpkin]… but who will honor me?” (292).

Charlene’s brief attempt to live by Anna’s example is an act of desperation. She feels this is the only path open to her. Her foray into magic through the use of enchanted cupcakes leads her to a turning point. She sees Red Dress and vows to reject Anna’s misuse of spiritual practice. Instead, she is led down a path that ultimately reunites her with Crystal. This rejection of Anna in favor of Crystal symbolizes Charlene’s rejection of the cycle of abuse that Anna perpetuated. As she leaves the reservation, he final vision of Pumpkin suggests that Charlene’s hope is being restored.

Harley is first introduced to Sioux spirituality through his grandmother Margaret. Together, they take a spiritual voyage to the moon that frightens Harley. However, when he later sees Margaret “dancing on the moon” (121), he is amazed. This experience informs Harley’s foundational knowledge on spirituality as something that can be powerful, frightening, and inspiring. His time with his grandmother teaches Harley that his ancestors live on after death, which foreshadows his eventually communications with the dead in the vision pit.

Margaret does not provide her children with any connection to their father until after her death, when Evelyn finds his picture. This highlights a way of thinking that is also apparent in Lydia, that some things are better left unsaid. However, the fact that Margaret leaves the picture, knowing Evelyn will find it, indicates she valued forms of communication other than the spoken word. This foreshadows Lydia’s future use of the beaded dress to communicate with Harley through visual storytelling.