Anna’s home is decorated with items she collected, like the skull of an opossum and the bones of a pigeon (p. 28). What did you make of this? Why do you suppose she kept such artifacts?
She grew up spending time in the forest with her father and those things had meaning to her, even thought she had no knowledge of her father’s mental illness and criminal activity. They aren’t things I would want in my home, but considering how much her father taught her about surviving in a wilderness setting (foraging, navigating, etc.), I didn’t find her collection all that odd. I interpreted her actions as bringing her comfort and helping her feel close to the father she knew as a child – the one she loved, trusted, and still wanted so badly to believe in, despite all of the evidence that he was a mentally ill monster.
Anna truly loved the forest and had many memories of being in the forest with her father. She loved the outdoors.
I agree with the above posts, that she grew up in the forest and still loved it, even though it brought disturbing memories of her father and his crimes. My brother happens to collect similar items and finds places around his house to put them - it’s just part of who he is.
I thought it a bit odd, but I’m prejudiced about using animal remains as decor. In this case, I do realize that for Anna the artifacts were not decor but a way of keeping herself connected to the truth of the forest, not just its beauty. As someone who considered herself a true child of the forest, it makes perfect sense for Anna to do this.
I was fine with it. They are memories of her time in the forest. No different than my collecting shells and stuff from my visits to the ocean.
Her collections seemed appropriate as Anna loved the woods and nature.
She loved the forrest and collected things that interested her. I didn’t think that was strange at all.
Another great analysis. She’s a child early on, her beloved father spent a great deal of time with her in the setting teaching her things including survival in the wilderness with nothing around but her intuition and wish to survive. Later on she would wonder if there was something wrong with herself, a very natural response to this situation.