The Charm

Emma’s natural born healing powers are nicknamed “the Charm,” which operates as a motif that develops one of the novel’s central themes of family and familial expectations. From the time of her birth, Emma’s family and community foists upon her a sense of responsibility to use her special abilities to heal others. “Someone like you. Her parents and high school teachers had always thought she was so special, just so great, but it turned out not to be true” (29). It is a burden that she carries with her and that she feels she will never be able to live up to. In reality, the Charm was just a perception her parents carried of their child as unique and special, which is not unlike the feelings every parent carries for the children, particularly for their first born.

The inability to live up to...