Grief

The author explores the psychological impact of grief through July and Sheela's attempts to understand September's death. The characters' inability to verbally acknowledge September's passing and absence throughout the majority of the novel, illustrates their profound sorrow. After Sheela and July leave Oxford for the Settle House, Sheela retreats into depressive isolation, unable to even converse with July. For the majority of their time at the house, July is unable to even recognize that her sister is gone. Though she is "alone for months and months and months," July starts "speaking in [September's] voice," wearing her clothes, playing games by herself she is convinced she is playing with September (185). Because she is not able to understand nor believe that September has really died, July convinces herself September is impossible to kill. Furthermore, July's inability to see or know her own identity without September, compels herself to...