Handle With Care

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes depictions of medical procedures and trauma, self-harm, sexual assault, suicide, disordered eating, outdated and offensive mental health beliefs and terminology, police brutality, and the death of a child.

The frozen pond at the edge of the O’Keefes’ lawn operates as a motif throughout the work, highlighting the theme of The Power and Shortcomings of Motherhood and Maternal Love. Initially, Charlotte despises the pond because it constantly reminds Willow of what she will never be able to do: skate independently. However, the pond also serves as a place where Charlotte can bond with her daughters and save their lives, such as when she rescues Willow from almost falling through the ice earlier in the novel.

It is significant that none of the characters ever talk about the pond when it is not frozen. This creates a dangerous tone surrounding the frozen pond: It is always ominous and threatening to hurt Willow, who could injure herself either by falling through the ice or by falling on it. She ultimately does fall through the ice in the last chapter of the novel. However, because her death is relatively peaceful, there appears to be some strength and finality in that broken ice.