Previous
Dene Oxendene
Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield’s story begins when she is a girl of twelve, dragged along to the Native occupation of Alcatraz island by her freewheeling mother. Opal and her half-sister, Jacquie Red Feather, have adventures on the island and even enjoy themselves for a time, but as their mother’s drinking gets worse and Jacquie gets involved with a rambunctious group of teens, Opal begins to feel isolated and lonely. After leaving the island, the girls’ mother passes away within just a few months, leaving them in the care of a dubious “uncle” named Ronald who lusts after the girls. Opal takes it upon herself to defend her pregnant half-sister and herself by striking Ronald with a baseball bat before fleeing his home, preferring to live in a group home rather than subject herself or her sister to Ronald’s predation. Opal falls in love with a young man named Lucas who runs away to Los Angeles, leaving her high and dry. Years later, when Opal is raising her sister’s grandchildren, Lucas returns to Oakland to die—and bequeaths unto Opal his Native regalia before passing. Opal fears raising the boys (Orvil, Lony, and Loother) with a strong connection to Native traditions because of the pain, trauma, suffering, and violence she’s witnessed in her own community—but her avoidance of the topic only makes the boys more curious about their cultural heritage. Ultimately, Opal learns that the boys are traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow to participate, and goes there herself to watch and support them. Quiet but stern and fiercely loving, Opal is stealthy and secretive about her past but determined to give her sister’s grandsons the best future she can.
Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield Quotes in There There
The There There quotes below are all either spoken by Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield or refer to Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part I: Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield (1)
Quotes
“One of the last things Mom said to me when we were over there, she said we shouldn’t ever not tell our stories,” I said.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” “I mean having the baby.”
“It’s not a story, Opal, this is real.”
“It could be both.”
“Life doesn't work out the way stories do. Mom’s dead, she’s not coming back, and we’re alone, living with a guy we don’t even know who we’re supposed to call uncle. What kind of a fucked-up story is that?”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part III: Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield (2)
Quotes
Opal pulled three spider legs out of her leg the Sunday afternoon before she and Jacquie left the home, the house, the man they’d been left with after their mom left this world. There’d recently been blood from her first moon. Both the menstrual blood and the spider legs had made her feel the same kind of shame. Something was in her that came out, that seemed so creaturely, so grotesque yet magical, that the only readily available emotion she had for both occasions was shame, which led to secrecy in both cases.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part IV: Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield (4)
Quotes
She puts her hand over her mouth and nose, sobs into her hand. She keeps listening to see if it will clear up. She wonders, she has the thought, Did someone really come to get us here? Now?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire There There LitChart as a printable PDF.
Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield Quotes in There There
The There There quotes below are all either spoken by Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield or refer to Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part I: Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield (1)
Quotes
“One of the last things Mom said to me when we were over there, she said we shouldn’t ever not tell our stories,” I said.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” “I mean having the baby.”
“It’s not a story, Opal, this is real.”
“It could be both.”
“Life doesn't work out the way stories do. Mom’s dead, she’s not coming back, and we’re alone, living with a guy we don’t even know who we’re supposed to call uncle. What kind of a fucked-up story is that?”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part III: Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield (2)
Quotes
Opal pulled three spider legs out of her leg the Sunday afternoon before she and Jacquie left the home, the house, the man they’d been left with after their mom left this world. There’d recently been blood from her first moon. Both the menstrual blood and the spider legs had made her feel the same kind of shame. Something was in her that came out, that seemed so creaturely, so grotesque yet magical, that the only readily available emotion she had for both occasions was shame, which led to secrecy in both cases.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part IV: Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield (4)
Quotes
She puts her hand over her mouth and nose, sobs into her hand. She keeps listening to see if it will clear up. She wonders, she has the thought, Did someone really come to get us here? Now?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
