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Chapter 12
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Skellig, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Weakness, Strength, and Hardship
Curiosity, Nature, and Transformation
Love, Empathy, and Caregiving
Imagination, Magic, and Faith
Summary
Analysis
Seeing Mina sitting on the wall, Michael goes into the garden and over to her. Michael tells Mina that the baby is in the hospital and that she might die. Mina sighs and asks Michael if he’d like to see a secret place. Promising it will only take five minutes, Mina leads Michael down several lanes, stopping at a house with a green gate. While Mina unlocks the gate, a cat (whom Mina says is named Whisper) brushes against Michael’s legs. Mina leads Michael through a door with a sign that says “Danger.” Inside, it is pitch dark. Mina leads Michael up three flights of stairs, and then they come to the attic door. Mina tells Michael to be brave and leads him into the attic.
Mina’s response to Michael’s cry of helplessness isn’t meant to pity Michael or add to his distress. Instead, her method of comforting Michael invites him inside her private world. This likely makes Michael feel trusted with something in a way that his parents don’t, trying to protect Michael by keeping him away from the ordeal with the baby. Mina’s entrusting Michael makes him feel seen and included. Moreover, Mina’s world might Michael a new, positive way of looking at death and danger.
Themes
Light from the setting sun streams in through a broken window on the opposite wall. Mina pulls Michael to the floor and hushes him. They wait. Suddenly, pale birds rise from the attic’s corners and fly out of the window. Mina says that they are tawny owls; she points to the corner and tells Michael not to go near their nest of chicks or the owls will attack him. Mina and Michael leave the attic and run back to Michael’s yard. Mina makes Michael promise not to tell anyone, then runs back to her yard, followed by Whisper.
