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Chapter 9
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Bronze Bow, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love vs. Vengeance
Trust, Dependence, and Friendship
Leadership: Power vs. Service
Earthly Hopes vs. Heavenly Values
Summary
Analysis
The sentry, Ebol, brings Daniel a message one morning. It’s from Simon, and it reads simply, “Your grandmother is dying.” The message is several days old. Daniel heads down the mountain to the village. When he knocks on his grandmother’s door, no one answers. Neighbors tell Daniel that the house has been locked for 10 days, and nobody wanted to break in for fear of his demon-possessed sister. However, people have tossed bread through the window.
Daniel is abruptly pulled out of his life on the mountain by his family’s needs again. Villagers’ misconceptions about Leah discourage them from getting too close to the family, showing how fear can cause people to mistreat others.
Themes
Daniel manages to climb up to the high window and peer inside. Seeing little, he calls to Leah, but she doesn’t respond. Terrified, Daniel finally breaks down the door, letting sunshine into the dank house. He sees Leah crouching in a corner, her eyes wild and her hair tangled. His grandmother is lying on a bed of straw. She slowly turns to Daniel and says, “You’ve come.” She doesn’t speak again.
Daniel finds a heartbreaking scenario at his grandmother’s house, as his grandmother is near death and Leah seems to have declined into childlike helplessness. It’s much closer to the sorrowful scene in Jesus’s courtyard, full of needy people, than the carefree life on the mountain.
Themes
Daniel sends for a physician, who tells him that his grandmother is dying; all he can do is let her go and tend to his sister. Awkwardly, Daniel brings in fresh straw, bathes his grandmother’s hands, and feeds her broth brought by a neighbor. The whole time, Leah watches him fearfully from the corner. At nightfall, a neighbor quietly brings Daniel oil to light his lamp. Daniel had forgotten that the people of this poor village could be kind. But as he keeps vigil beside his grandmother, he feels afraid. He wonders if the “devil” that’s possessed his sister will seize him, too.
This scene contrasts sharply with the scene a chapter earlier, when Daniel jumped on an old man. Instead of attacking, Daniel now undertakes the most tender caretaking. He’s still scared and uncertain. The scene suggests, though, that Daniel is capable of much more than Rosh thinks. In fact, he’s acting more like Jesus (serving) than Rosh (asserting power).
Themes
Daniel’s grandmother seems to have known he would come back. He doesn’t know why—he feels he’s never done anything for her, and he never even told her why he ran off to join Rosh. So finally he begins to talk. He tells his grandmother he remembers when he was a child, and she took care of him and Leah, telling them Bible stories. He thinks he sees a faint smile on her face, and he hears Leah stir in the corner. He digs a certain Psalm out of his memory and recites it: “The Lord is my shepherd.” Leah silently sits beside him, taking his hand, and Daniel’s fear subsides. At some point in the night, his grandmother stops breathing.
Despite everything Daniel’s done, his grandmother still loves him and seems to have faith in his capabilities. In turn, this love draws more out of Daniel—even childhood Bible teaching. As he recites the Psalm describing God as a loving, caring shepherd, Leah is drawn to Daniel as well. The whole scene suggests that childhood influences have had a much deeper influence on Daniel than even Rosh has had.
Themes
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