37 pages 1 hour read

Liz Kessler

The Tail of Emily Windsnap

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2003

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Symbols & Motifs

The Voyager

The Voyager is a famous sunken ship among the merfolk. It functions as a symbol of the relationship between Emily’s parents, as well as direct support for The Resilient Nature of Love and Identity. In Chapter 2, after Emily and her mom return from the psychic, Emily’s mom remembers lines from a poem that describes a sunken ship of gold and white. Later, when Shona and Emily find The Voyager, Emily recognizes it from her mother’s description. Emily later learns the poem her mom recited was one Emily’s dad wrote for her mom because he proposed while the two visited The Voyager. Emily explores the Voyager with Shona, bringing the ship’s significance full circle. In this way, The Voyager also continues to be a symbol of human and merfolk relationships, since Emily and Shona go on to be the best of friends despite coming from two separate worlds.

The King of the Sea

The King of the Sea is the name of the boat where Emily and her mom live. The boat speaks to the theme of the resilient nature of love and identity, and the name of the boat is both a reference to

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