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Chapter 38
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
In August of 1969, Kya takes her boat to a peninsula called Cypress Cove to work on her mushroom book. As she works, Chase comes up behind her and says, “Well, look who’s here. My Marsh Girl.” When she turns, he says that he saw her while he was fishing and figured he’d say hello. In response, she asks him to leave, but he doesn’t, instead putting his hand on her and saying he’s sorry about what happened between them. She yells at him, telling him not to touch her, but he persists, saying that she should have known that they’d never be able to get married, since she wouldn’t fit into life outside the marsh. He then says nobody will ever be like her, and he gets closer despite her repeated request to be left alone.
Readers already know that Rodney Horn will eventually tell Ed and Joe that something has happened between Chase and Kya at Cypress Cove—something that makes it seem like Kya would have a reason to murder Chase. As Chase approaches Kya now, then, readers brace for some sort of altercation, especially when Chase refuses to back off when Kya asks to be left alone. In this moment, it’s clear that Chase doesn’t care if he makes Kya uncomfortable. After all, he has only ever cared about what he wants out of their interactions.
Themes
Chase takes Kya by the shoulders, and she screams to be let go. When he tries to kiss her, she knocks his hands away and leans back, yelling at him. “There’s my lynx,” he says. “Wilder than ever.” With this, he forces her to the ground and puts himself on top of her. She begs him to stop, but he knees her in the stomach and unzips his jeans. Still, she tries to stand, but he punches her in the face and then holds her down. Just when he’s about to rape her, she summons an elemental strength and rises up, pushing him off and hitting him in the face until he falls, at which point she kicks him in the groin and kidneys. Frantically fastening her shorts, she gets into her boat and motors away, making eye contact with two staring fishermen as she goes.
If it wasn’t already clear that Chase only cares about his own desires, it becomes painfully obvious when he tries to rape Kya. That he would do this to anybody—let alone someone he claimed to love—demonstrates his violent cruelty. Unfortunately, his behavior also confirms once more to Kya that it’s dangerous to let people into her life, since doing so has only ever led to turmoil and pain. And though Kya thankfully escapes, she’s forced to live with the grave emotional implications that come along with such aggressive and traumatic encounters.
Themes
