History of Wolves

Chapter 1 uses the setting of the Minnesota woods in winter to establish a cold and dark tone for the novel. The novel reveals early that Paul will die under mysterious circumstances, alluded to throughout the first three chapters with Linda’s future remembrances interspersed with her present narration. The opening chapter also establishes the novel’s motif of sickness and death through the public death of Mr. Adler and hospital imagery. Mr. Adler’s body lies in a pile of his own drool, pooling from his “blue lips suctioning the carpet” (4). Similarly, Linda describes “the gifted and talented kids” (6) as holding their mechanical pencils like hospital needles. Linda’s association with this imagery—of not being bothered nor alarmed by death and illness—differentiates her from her classmates; she interprets things and people very differently. 

Linda’s different way of thinking is why she feels drawn to wolves rather than people when researching her speech. When the judges question her decision, she replies: “Wolves have nothing at all to do with humans, actually. If they can help it, they avoid them” (14). Chapter 1 positions Linda as a wolf among humans—observant, isolated, and, at times, cruel. Her encounters with Mr. Grierson further establish her as odd; when she pats his pants, she isn’t trying to be sexual, but feels compelled to soothe him, like a dog becoming a pet. She kisses him because his throat “looked as wide and soft as a belly exposed” (16). She sees it as a weakness somehow, sensing that the most harmful blow she can land on Mr. Grierson is a kiss. When she learns that he’s a pedophile, she feels misled—betrayed, even—but not because of sexual feelings toward him. Rather, Linda’s behavior suggests that she believes she has incredible instincts, which she often acts upon, and Mr. Grierson’s rejection makes her doubt herself. Most of all, the rejection is especially painful because Linda must leave his car and return to the home she hates.

Chapter 2 develops the symbolism of winter by likening it to the physical and routine aspects of high school. As Linda thinks that the brick walls make “[w]inter boomerang back” (21), she is emphasizing the omnipresence of the season, enveloping the novel in the icy dullness often associated with winter. Furthermore, Linda compares the “four feet of snow” outside to the subject’s studies inside: “European History, American Civics, Trigonometry, English” (21). In this way, Linda perceives school to be as isolating and mind-numbing as a harsh winter. The frozen lake also begins to emerge as a mysterious symbol, as Linda considers that the lake is no place for her new neighbors: nothing upon it stirs, but beneath it, fish float, “waiting winter out” (23). Just as the ice begins to crack, Linda observes her neighbors, suggesting that the surface is giving way to some great depth. Their blatant visibility positions them and their life as a show—or a play—for Linda; she watches them move through the motions of their day in idealistic ways but is unable to understand them. Linda’s propensity for observation is further developed through her interaction with Lily; Linda perceives the unspoken change in Lily almost instantly, recognizes the lies Lily has told, and understands that Lily now enjoys some sort of power over others. Most of all, Linda’s observation of Lily’s endless smiley face doodles creates an eerie dissonance between Lily’s calm and proud behavior with her mental state. Though Linda does not voice any concern, the reader begins to wonder if Lily is really as okay as she acts. 

The theme of observation continues throughout Chapter 3, as Linda discovers the telescope points at her house. The irony, here, is that Linda has been peering desperately to get a glimpse of the family that may also be watching her closely. 

Linda uses winter and the ice to convey time throughout the novel; Chapters 1 and 2 describe the fresh and persistent snows of late fall and winter; Chapter 3 marks the beginning of Spring with ice “drifting ashore in jagged chunks [and] the last of the snow lay[ing] in dunes” (31). Nature, especially the changes it endures because of winter, is pervasive throughout the story. When Linda first encounters Patra and Paul on the trail, her description of them looking like “deer lifting their heads” (31) again positions her like a predator, and them the prey. Linda refers to mother and child as “the boy” and “the girl” (31), despite the woman’s age. This suggests a naiveté to Linda that she cannot differentiate between childhood and adulthood. Her overall impatience and candor with Paul demonstrates a pattern of disregard toward age-appropriate behavior, suggesting that her isolation from the world has hindered her ability to interact with others and made her behave like neither a child nor an adult. 

Chapter 3, by alluding to a future trial and the oddness of Linda’s neighbors, foreshadows the young family’s dark secret, represented by the old leather glove that Paul carries around. The glove, which the boy calls his “Thirdhand Man” that he keeps around “for survival” is worn down and “green with rot” (33-34), insinuating something strange—or perhaps rotten—with the family. Linda’s desire to be near them overshadows her suspicions: she’s excited to be considered an adult by Patra and intrigued by the life they live. 

Linda says of her neighbors: “No they’re not going to kidnap me, they’re a mom and her son, not a cult, not a hippie commune or anything weird. […] They need someone to teach them about the woods” (39). Here, Linda not only reveals her desire to have a normal background, but also her desire to appear knowledgeable. Most of all, the final lines allude to a wildness in Linda that she also recognizes; she understands the woods because she is very much a wolf within it. Patra and Paul, who appear deer-like in their innocence and ignorance, will need her help to safely navigate it.