Protecting One's Child

One theme of this novel is found in the desire of three separate characters to protect their children. The first is Katie. Katie has a baby out of wedlock, a fact she finds difficult to deal with. In fact, Katie finds this situation so difficult that she refuses to admit to herself that she is pregnant until she goes into labor. It is during labor and the actual birth of the baby that Katie admits to herself that she is having a baby and accepts this baby in her heart. Katie immediately attempts to protect her child by stopping its bleeding and hugging it to herself in order to keep it warm. Katie's instincts kick in and she wants to be a good mother. When the child disappears, at first she convinces herself that the birth was only a dream. Later, when Katie begins to admit...