As in The Giver, water symbolizes escape, as well as the uncontrollable nature of the world. This symbolism is particularly apparent in Book One, as Claire begins to feel curiosity about the river, the bridge over it, and what lies beyond. Though she knows people have died in the river, she nevertheless feels drawn to it and daydreams about where it might take her. And eventually, Gabe, Jonas, and Claire do all escape using the river.
For Claire, however, water quickly comes to symbolize the dangers of the natural world more than freedom. It’s implied that the sea-river boat on which she escapes is shipwrecked at sea, which is how she ends up clinging to the boat’s mast off the coast of the village. Escape from her original community appears, at this point, a double-edged sword: Claire escaped, but she also lost her memories in the process. The villagers seem to share in this belief about water as an unknowable, dangerous force: calling Claire “Water Claire” and thinking of her as being like a mermaid or selkie speaks to how mysterious and almost mythical Claire seems to the villagers when she first arrives. Additionally, they’re also accustomed to people dying at sea and so are accustomed to its dangers.
Finally, it’s no coincidence that in Book Three, Gabe plans to return to his original community to find his mother on the river. As Claire did in Book One, he sees the river as his means of escape—and just as Claire learns, water becomes something of a dangerous and unpredictable force in his life. However, when Gabe uses his paddle and his knowledge of his friends’ love and support to safely (and magically) cross the river, the novel nevertheless suggests that by working together toward a common goal—and by respecting nature’s power—it’s possible to safely navigate the water.
Water Quotes in Son
The boat almost grazed the bank there, and she felt a yearning to go close to it. Odd, she thought, but she felt almost lured by the boat, in the same way that she found herself drawn to the Nurturing Center and the newchild who had been wrested from her body almost a year before. There was no relationship between the two, but Claire was feeling increasingly connected to both.
“Sixteen,” Water Claire repeated in her soft voice, and though she said no more, they knew that she was mourning the knowledge of the years that the sea had gulped away. She watched the little girls at play, laughing as they ran through the meadow, quick and colorful as butterflies, but there was sadness in the watching, for Claire’s meadow days had been taken from her. They did not come back, even in dreams.
“My father was a fisherman, and he was out with the boats. It was this time of year, with the cold and the wind. He likely had a bad time of it too. But he was a hard man, my father. Strong. Used to the weather.”
He shrugged. “As I am,” he said.
“But you’re not hard, Einar.”
“Hardened to the weather, I am. I must be, for the creatures.”
She knew he meant his flock of sheep.
“I don’t feel the cold as you do,” he told her.
“You’ve always been here. You’ve learned to live with it.”
All that work. The weeks and weeks of planning, of building, of hoping. And all he could say now was that the paddle worked well. Gabe felt it all slipping away: his dream of returning, of finding his mother, of becoming part of something he had yearned for all his life.
It was dark when Gabe stood at the water’s edge, alone. He had begged Jonas to come with him. But Jonas had said no.
“Years ago, Gabe, when I took you and ran away, there was a man I loved and left behind. I wanted him to come with me but he said no.
“He was right to refuse. It was my journey and I had to do it without help. I had to find my own strengths, face my own fears. And now you must.”
He repeated them, like a chant. He loosened the paddle from there it was wedged. With his fingers he could feel the carved names in the smooth wet wood: Tarik. Simon. Nathaniel. Stefan. Jonas. Though she had not carved her name, he added Kira in his mind. Then little Matthew, and Annabelle. Finally he said his mother’s name—Claire—aloud, adding it to the list of those who cared about him. He shouted it—“Claire!”—into the night, begging her to live. Holding tightly to the paddle, he began to kick his way easily across the gently flowing water in the moonlight.