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Chapter 45
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
It is a beautiful spring day. Dad goes to pick up Mum and the baby from the hospital while Michael puts the kettle on for Mum and slips the feather from Skellig under the baby’s mattress. When Mum and the baby arrive, Michael greets them at the door. Mum puts the baby in Michael’s lap. The baby smiles and pulls at Michael; Michael feels she is looking into the place inside him where his dreams come from. The family lays the baby on the table and sits around her, smiling. Dad gives Michael sips of his beer.
When the story began, Michael felt that dreams alienated him from the world; he felt an inherent disconnection from others because he suspected that his dreams were false and that no one else would see what he saw in his dreams. Now, not only does Michael believe that his dreams are true, but he feels that the baby can see his dreams. In this way, Michael now believes in a connection between reality and dreams, and this connects him to others.
Themes
There is a knock and Mina enters shyly. Taking her hand, Michael leads Mina to the baby. Mina says that the baby is extraordinary. Shyly, Mina unrolls her painting of Skellig as a present for the baby. Mum starts to ask a question, but then says that it is lovely. Mina leaves, saying she will see Michael tomorrow. Michael watches Mina bend to pet Whisper; for a moment, Michael is sure he can see wings on Mina’s back. Back in the kitchen, the family discusses what to name the baby. Finally, they name her Joy.
The family decides to name the baby after a quality of the human spirit. The name “Joy” speaks to many of the spiritual experiences that Michael has had throughout the story: his wonder at nature, creating art, dancing with Skellig, and seeing wings on the backs of his loved ones. This final naming suggests that what Michael has learned more than anything is the presence of the “extraordinary” and inexplicable. When the story began, all Michael could see was harsh and colorless reality. Through curiosity, faith, and exploration, Michael came to see that joy can emerge miraculously from hardship.
Themes
