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Chapter 16
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Where the Crawdads Sing, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Survival, Necessity, and Violence
Independence vs. Human Connection
Education, Coming of Age, and Adulthood
Prejudice, Intolerance, and Acceptance
Summary
Analysis
As Kya pulls up to Jumpin’s one morning, he tells her that several men from Social Services came looking for her. He gave them false information, but he warns Kya that they’re still searching for her. That afternoon, Kya asks Tate if they can meet somewhere more secretive, and though he agrees, he asks why. She explains that men from Social Services are looking for him and that she fears they’ll try to put her in a foster home. “Well, we better hide way out there where the crawdads sing,” Tate says, and when Kya asks what this expression means, he tells her that it means they should go as far into the woods as they can, where the creatures are still wild and uninfluenced by human activity. With this in mind, she takes him to a dilapidated cabin in an area that’s even more secluded than where she lives.
Kya’s determination to stay away from the Social Service agents underscores how committed she is to living on her own in the marsh. Although she has opened herself up to Tate (and, to a certain extent, Jumpin’), she’s unwilling to embrace a life outside the isolation of the marsh. Recognizing how much this means to her, Tate suggests that they go out “where the crawdads sing,” thereby aligning himself with Kya’s vision of an off-the-grid lifestyle amongst wild creatures.
Themes
That summer, Kya and Tate spend a lot of time in the remote cabin, which Kya refers to as the “reading cabin.” Together, they work their way through a book Tate gisve her called A Sand County Almanac, which is full of information about nature and marshlands—information that directly applies to the world surrounding Kya, giving her knowledge that she can actually use, unlike what she imagines she would learn in school. Eventually, Tate brings her poetry and tells her that poems make people feel things. By way of explanation, he reads her several pieces, and she finds herself pleasantly surprised by how much she likes listening to the rhythm of language. So begins her love of poetry, which she reads whenever she gets the chance.
One of the reasons that Tate is so successful in his attempt to educate Kya is that his lessons bring themselves to bear on her lived experience. Rather than studying superfluous subjects that have little to do with life in the marsh, Kya is able to learn about the building blocks of nature that make up her own environment. In addition, Kya experiences something of an emotional education when Tate introduces her to poetry poetry, which teaches her how to tap into the universal feelings that characterize humanity and which she might not have encountered or acknowledged if she didn’t read about them in poetry.
Themes
Tate begins his senior year of high school, so he’s unable to see Kya as often as before. Still, he comes when he can, bringing her books that are beyond her reading level, though he assures her that she’ll soon understand everything she reads. When she’s not with Tate, Kya busies herself by reading Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, which Ma kept on her bookshelf. Imagining herself as the female protagonist, she puts on Ma’s sundress and twirls before the mirror, wondering what it would be like if Tate asked her to dance.
Once more, Kya’s education informs her coming-of-age process. This time, she reads Daphne du Maurier’s novel Rebecca, allowing the book to influence the way she thinks about Tate and, more importantly, herself. Indeed, Kya begins to think about her own appeal and ponders the possibility that her connection with Tate could someday become romantic.
Themes
While Kya’s filling up at Jumpin’s one morning, Mabel tells her to come into the bait shop, where she gives her a beautiful outfit. She also hands Kya a bra, telling her not to be shy and that she needs it. Going on, she tells Kya to come to her if she ever needs to talk or ask questions about anything at all. Grateful for these gifts, Kya thanks her and leaves.
As Kya comes of age, she has almost nobody to help guide her through the various trials and tribulations of adolescence and early adulthood. Thankfully, Mabel recognizes that Kya lacks this, which is why she goes out of her way to emphasizes that Kya can always talk to her about anything she wants, no doubt sensing that Kya has already started to notice changes in her body.
Themes
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Shortly after talking to Mabel, Kya’s sitting on the beach waiting for Tate when her stomach suddenly cramps in a way it never has before. Confused, she wonders if she’s about to have diarrhea and, because of this thought, is mortified when she sees Tate approaching in his boat. Although she tries to act normal when he greets her, he immediately senses that something’s wrong, and she admits that she’s sick. She then suggests that he should go, but he insists on staying to make sure she gets home all right. After a moment, he asks if her discomfort feels different than the other stomach aches she’s had in her life, and when she says that it does, he asks, “You’re almost fifteen, right?” Going on, he tells her that she might be menstruating, reminding her that he brought her a pamphlet about this.
Kya is lucky that, although she doesn’t have many people in her life, she can depend upon people like Mabel and Tate to help her make sense of the changes her body undergoes as she enters young adulthood. At the same time, though, it’s probably embarrassing for Kya that the boy about whom she’s started having romantic thoughts is the one to talk her through her first period. To give credit where credit is due, though, Tate is quite kind and sympathetic in this moment, somehow managing to tell Kya what he knows about menstruation without seeming patronizing, condescending, or judgmental (which is commendable because, as a male, he doesn’t actually know what it’s like to menstruate). This, it seems, is the kind of support Kya needs and deserves, though it’s obviously not optimal that it has to come from Tate.
Themes
Embarrassed, Kya avoids looking at Tate and thinks about the fact that she’s sitting right next to a boy while becoming a woman. As she worries how much blood will come out of her, Tate tells her that she’ll be all right, assuring her that every young woman gets through this. He then tells her that he’ll follow her home in his boat to make sure that she gets there safely, and when they arrive, she waves at him from land. The next morning, she goes to Jumpin’s and asks to speak to Mabel. When Mabel arrives, Kya shyly tells her that she had her first period, and Mabel reaches out and hugs her. At first, Kya doesn’t know what to do, but soon she relaxes into Mabel’s embrace, and Mabel tells her that she has become a woman.
Tate is able to tell Kya what’s happening to her body, but he isn’t capable of fully comforting her. This is because his empathy and understanding can only go so far, since she feels awkward talking about this subject with him. For this reason, Kya finds Mabel’s empathy soothing, even if she doesn’t know how to relax into her embrace right away. During this interaction, she remains on her guard until she finally lets herself simply enjoy Mabel’s compassion, which helps her see not only that there are people in the world who care about her, but also that what’s happening to her body is nothing out of the ordinary and is, in fact, a beautiful thing.
Themes
The day after Kya gets her first period, Tate brings her a new book, along with several baked goods—which make her very happy—and neither of them say anything about what happened the day before. As summer turns to autumn, Tate continues to visit. One day, Kya finally works up the courage to ask him why he bothers to come all the way out into the marsh just to see her and teach her to read. She also asks if he has a girlfriend with whom he’d rather spend time. In response, he says that he doesn’t have a girlfriend, though he has been in relationships in the past. Going on, he says that he likes being in the marsh, and he likes Kya’s interest in the surrounding nature. Nobody else in his life bothers to think about such things, he says.
Because Kya’s entire life plays out in the marsh, she doesn’t know what Tate’s existence is like in Barkley Cove. Accordingly, she tries to determine whether or not he has a girlfriend, clearly not wanting to become too committed to him if he himself isn’t invested in their developing relationship (which, at least thus far, hasn’t crossed into romantic territory). In this regard, readers see how wary Kya is of letting herself become close with another human, no doubt remembering how painful it is to put trust in a loved one only to be let down and abandoned.
Themes
What Tate doesn’t tell Kya when she asks why he comes to see her is that he feels bad for her. He doesn’t like the fact that people in Barkley Cove refer to her as the “Marsh Girl.” They also tell tall tales about her and dare each other to run out to her shack. Worse, some young men have already started taking bets on who will be the first one to have sex with Kya. This infuriates Tate, but it isn’t the sole reason he visits her in the marsh. Indeed, the primary reason is that he has complicated feelings for her—feelings that are like a mixture of those he might have for a sister and those he might have for a lover.
That Tate finds himself so enraged by the insensitivity of his fellow townspeople is yet another sign that he’s a genuinely kind and compassionate person. Rather than seeing Kya as strange and mysteriously alluring simply because she comes from a different background, he approaches her as a kindred spirit, someone who likes the same things that he likes and appreciates the marsh in the same way as him. By outlining this dynamic, then, Owens not only spotlights Tate’s kindheartedness, but also calls attention to the insensitive ways in which the surrounding community treats Kya.
Themes
After asking why he visits her, Kya asks Tate about his mother, and he explains that both she and his sister died in a car accident. They were on their way to buy him a birthday present, he tells her, or at least this is what he thinks. In this way, he sees their death as his fault, though he knows he shouldn’t think like this. Sensing his distress, Kya leans toward him without actually touching him. Just then, the wind picks up and blows throngs of leaves off the trees, and Tate springs to his feet and tells Kya to see how many she can catch before they hit the ground. As they do this, they laugh and spin around until suddenly Kya runs into Tate. They both stop and gaze at one another for a moment, and then he plants his hands on her shoulders and kisses her.
Although Tate’s mother and sister didn’t purposefully abandon him like Kya’s family members abandoned her, Kya is able to empathize with the fact that he has experienced loss. It is perhaps for this reason that they kiss right after having this conversation, clearly feeling close to each other because of their different yet surprisingly similar pasts.
Themes
After they kiss, Kya asks Tate if she’s his girlfriend now, and he asks if this is something she wants. When Kya says yes, Tate worries aloud that she might be too young, but Kya dispels this idea by pointing out that she knows more about feathers than any other girl Tate could find. Considering this for a moment, Tate agrees that she’s right and kisses her again.
For the first time in her life, Kya is in a romantic relationship. And though it’s clear that her connection with Chase is positive and emotionally gratifying, it’s worth noting that Tate’s concern about her age is valid. After all, she is several years younger than him, to say nothing of the fact that her emotional maturity is likely underdeveloped because of her limited access to the outside world. At the same time, though, Kya addresses this worry by reminding Tate that she knows a lot that most girls her age don’t know, ultimately pointing out that just because she hasn’t had the same exposure to the outside world as other people doesn’t mean she’s not as emotionally or intellectually capable of engaging in romantic relationships. (Though this, of course, doesn’t change the fact that she’s quite young.)
Themes
