All Souls: A Family Story From Southie

During Stevie’s trial, a friend named Mary Scott gives him a rose. She tells him it is a symbol of faith in the divine intervention of St. Theresa. Michael gives Stevie a small silver cross to remind him of their family faith. After his guilty verdict, Stevie leaves the crumpled rosebud and cross on a windowsill: “It was one thing to feel forsaken by the criminal justice system. It was another to feel forsaken by God” (246). While Stevie is no longer able to cling to symbols of faith for support, Michael can’t make himself jettison the symbols of his own faith. He takes the rose and cross and puts them in his pocket.

There are several dreams in All Souls that portend the death of a family member or close friend. It is unclear whether Michael believes the dreams to be real prophecies, even as they seem to come true. Kevin’s death is foreshadowed in a dream, as are the deaths of both Timmy Baldwin and Frankie.