Previous
Chapter 16
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Walk Two Moons, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Judgment, Perspective, and Storytelling
Parents, Children, and Growing Up
Grief
Nature
Summary
Analysis
Sal is walking home after school with Phoebe. Phoebe is unusually sullen for no apparent reason. She tells Sal that Dad has to stop seeing Mrs. Cadaver—Mrs. Cadaver might chop him up, and then, Sal would have to go live with Momma. Sal is surprised, since she hasn’t mentioned Momma at all. She lies that she’d go live with Momma in that event, though she knows such a thing would be impossible.
Here, Sal starts giving clues that Momma might not just be convalescing in Lewiston. This builds tension, as now it’s even less what Momma is doing in Lewiston, or why Sal can’t live with her. But Sal isn’t ready to share this with Phoebe (or with the reader), so the novel puts this mystery aside for a while longer.
Themes
When Sal and Phoebe walk into Phoebe’s house, Mrs. Winterbottom is sitting in front of a pan of burned brownies. She blows her nose, asks Phoebe how school was, and kisses Phoebe’s cheek. Phoebe brushes off Mrs. Winterbottom’s kiss and insists she doesn’t want a brownie, since they’re burnt and she’s fat. Mrs. Winterbottom assures Phoebe that she isn’t overweight, but Phoebe snaps. She shouts that she’s fat and doesn’t need her mother to wait for her after school. Then, she flounces upstairs.
Phoebe is starting to push Mrs. Winterbottom away forcefully; she doesn’t appreciate Mrs. Winterbottom’s attempts to support and comfort her. Again, Mrs. Winterbottom seems to be in an emotional state—comforting Phoebe may also be an attempt to comfort herself.
Themes
Mrs. Winterbottom offers Sal a brownie, so Sal sits down. She starts to remember the day before Momma left. Sal didn’t know Momma was going to leave the next day, and she continually refused to walk up to the fields with Momma. Finally, Sal snapped at Momma. Now, she wishes that wasn’t one of Momma’s last memories of her.
Again, watching Phoebe and Mrs. Winterbottom’s troubled dynamic gives Sal insight about the way she treated Momma. Given the similarities between Sal and Phoebe’s respective relationships with their mothers, Sal’s regret about snapping at Momma could foreshadow that Phoebe will come to similarly regret snapping at Mrs. Winterbottom.
Themes
Just then, Prudence flies through the front door, wailing that she botched her cheerleading tryout. As Mrs. Winterbottom suggests she come to the second round of tryouts tomorrow to watch, Sal can tell that Mrs. Winterbottom is trying to put aside her own sadness. Sal realizes that Prudence “ha[d] her own agenda,” just like Sal did the day Momma invited her to walk to the fields.
Sal’s realization about Prudence having “her own agenda” shows that she’s internalizing the lessons in the mysterious notes. Just like Phoebe, Prudence doesn’t seem to register that her mother is struggling emotionally. Sal can see that Prudence is too caught up in what’s going on in her own life to pay attention to what’s happening to the people around her—especially Mrs. Winterbottom, whom Prudence takes for granted in many ways.
Themes
Get the entire Walk Two Moons LitChart as a printable PDF.
Prudence screeches that Mrs. Winterbottom can’t come watch as Phoebe comes back into the kitchen with another white envelope. The message in this one reads, “In the course of a lifetime, what does it matter?” Prudence insists she has better things to worry about, and Phoebe teases Prudence that cheerleading tryouts don’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
This message encourages the reader to consider whether something that seems like a big deal is actually that important, when considered alongside the fact that life is long. Phoebe is trying to annoy Prudence by noting that cheerleading tryouts don’t matter, but she nevertheless seems to grasp this note’s basic message.
Themes
Meanwhile, Sal notices something odd happen to Mrs. Winterbottom: she puts a hand to her mouth and stares out the window. Later, as Sal walks home, she thinks about the message. She figures that cheerleading tryouts probably don’t matter, but yelling at your mother might. She’s sure that yelling at your mother will definitely matter, though, if your mother leaves.
Sal doesn’t mention that either Phoebe or Prudence notice this change coming over their mother. Sal, as an outsider who sees her own mother reflected back to her in Mrs. Winterbottom, notices. This is because she’s seen what happens when a mother become unhappy, and it hasn’t turned out well for Sal’s family.
Themes
