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The Coffin
The pelt of the Esk God represents the dangers of human greed. Thurston claims the pelt by killing the Esk God, a creature of vital importance to the Esk Rivers’ ecology—a creature Thurston presumes to be a common water rat. The other river creatures who were devoted to this divinity seek vengeance by besieging Thurston in his home, attacking him, and eventually feasting on his corpse. In the midst of this onslaught, Thurston treats the pelt as a treasured possession, eventually becoming so obsessed with it that he dies clutching it. This scene is an outward manifestation of Thurston’s greed and ignorance. Claiming and owning the pelt leads Thurston to a gruesome and isolated death—his delight in owning something so beautiful—and his presumption that he could own any part of nature—is also his downfall. When Levi takes the pelt from Thurston’s corpse, he experiences the same comfort and delight. In time, he depends on the pelt to encourage him and strengthen his resolve. Levi considers the pelt a treasure just as Thurston did—it makes him confident enough to confront his father (Jack) and instills in him a level of concentration necessary to build a coffin without the necessary skills—but the arrogant satisfaction he feels as the owner of such an object leaves him malnourished, confused, and estranged from Charlotte, for whom the coffin was meant to be a sign of his love. Ultimately, the pelt signifies that possessing, and obsessing over, material objects causes danger and destruction to the possessor, their environment, and the people they love.
The Pelt Quotes in Flames
The Flames quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Pelt. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Fur
Quotes
So come: collect your half-made coffin. I shall not charge you for it, even though I have laboured over its creation. I no longer need the money—the taxman has no chance of getting to me while these creatures plague my doorstep. Come take the flesh-stoning panels of freshly carved snowgum. But the pelt stays with me, moron boy. The only grave it shall adorn is my own.
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Wood
Quotes
In a mind like his, grand acts will always trump honest words. There was a chance he’d understand this—a slim chance, but a chance nonetheless—the moment he saw the coffin. An epiphany might have dawned upon him: What am I doing? Is she even worried about her eventual death? What if she just needs someone to talk to? What if she just needs time? But this chance was destroyed the moment Levi picked the golden-brown pelt from Hough’s nibbled fingers. Now, with his fingers tousling the fur, with the uncommon warmth spreading from his fingers to his scalp, he has never been more sure of himself.
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The Pelt Symbol Timeline in Flames
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Pelt appears in Flames. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Fur
...wombat fur as he usually does, thanks to a wombat shortage. Instead, he’ll use the pelt of a particularly beautiful water rat he trapped a few days ago. He finds himself...
(full context)
...Levi to feel free to collect the half-finished coffin, though he won’t give up the pelt of the water rat, which has been his “sole comfort.”
(full context)
Cake
...body. When that man left, he took with him a half-finished coffin and a golden pelt.
(full context)
Wood
...the address he got from Thurston’s publisher. He retches again before he sees the golden pelt Thurston’s mutilated hand is clutching. He pries the pelt out of the corpse’s grip. It...
(full context)
Levi strokes the pelt as he drives. He understands why Thurston wrote about it with such praise: touching it...
(full context)
Levi remembers he left the pelt in the house. He goes back to retrieve it and finds Levi and Charlotte’s father...
(full context)
Levi remembers he came back for the pelt. He picks it up and his confidence renews. He mentions that he hasn’t seen Levi...
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Grove
...introduces Nicola and the detective. Levi says he never hired the detective. He grabs the pelt from the sawhorse and clutches it.
(full context)
Levi stumbles. Charlotte ends up grabbing the pelt from him instead of grabbing his arm, and she feels its glowing warmth. The two...
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Levi kneels over the pile of ash that was once the pelt. Charlotte stands above him, still leaking fire. She sees Nicola lying unmoving by the sawhorse....
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Cloud
...Cloud God is weeping so fiercely because of the smoke that rose from the golden pelt, which confirmed that her love, the Esk God, had died. In her sorrow, she tries...
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Sea
...dream. The clearest thing he remembers is the confidence he felt when he took the pelt from Thurston. Even the memories before that, like when he was planning the coffin, are...
(full context)
