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Chapter 17
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
On the way to the hospital, Dad tells Michael that Mrs. Dando called to say that Michael’s friends miss him. When Dad asks if Michael wants to go back to school, Michael says he is learning from Mina. At the hospital, Michael holds the baby and tries to feel if she is getting stronger. Mum says the baby will be playing in the garden soon, but there are tears in her eyes. When Mum observes that Michael and Dad look tired, Dad jokes that they’ve been up late having fun.
Michael is looking deeper into the things around him. Instead of touching the baby blindly, Michael feels deeper into her growing strength, a process that is usually imperceptible. Also, he notices that Mum’s eyes are teary when she says her usual “will be” mantra. This shows Michael’s perspective on hope is shifting. Now, he sees it not as ignorance about painful truths but as a person’s strength of belief.
Themes
Michael goes into the hall. After getting directions from a nurse, Michael takes the elevator to the arthritis ward. In the hall, a woman with swollen hands leans on a walker. Panting, the woman says that she’ll be dancing soon. Michael says that he has a friend with arthritis. The woman says that arthritis wins in the end, but Dr. MacNabola can help. The woman moves on, humming. Michael observes the other patients in the ward; some are engaged in activities, while others lie exhausted in bed.
The arthritic woman’s will to keep moving is not based on her certainty that she will fully recover; in fact, she states that arthritis will eventually kill her. Instead, her will comes from her belief that she will live long enough to recover enough to dance again. This reframing of hope suggests that what makes a person’s life desirable is not the promise of a full life but rather the time they have, no matter how brief, to do something that brings them joy.
Themes
A doctor passes through the ward. Addressing him as Dr. MacNabola, Michael asks the doctor what helps with arthritis. When Dr. MacNabola asks if Michael has arthritis, Michael says that a friend of his does. Dr. MacNabola jokes that the saw and the needle are the only cure, though cod liver oil and movement can help. When Dr. MacNabola moves down the hall, a nearby nurse explains that he likes to show off but that he is a good doctor.
Dr. MacNabola’s sarcastic reply reveals the pessimism that underlies a world rooted in certainty, such as the world of science and medicine. Since medicine is based on facts, there is no faith that a person with arthritis can get better. And in order to have the best chance of getting better, science suggests cures that actually connote violence and destruction, such as the saw.
Themes
Michael goes back to the baby’s room. Mum tries to smile, but Michael can tell she has been crying. Dad tries to joke. Mum hugs Michael and says he is her best boy, no matter what. At home, Dad goes back to painting. Taking an ale and cod liver pills, Michael goes outside, saying he is going to see Mina.
Michael and his parents seem to be reversing roles. Previously, Mum and Dad had been the seemingly optimistic and proactive ones while Michael sulked; now, they succumb to tears of helplessness while Michael focuses on solutions through curing the creature.
Themes
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