A Council of Dolls

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of death, child death, pregnancy loss, graphic violence, and racism.

The dolls in this novel have multiple levels of significance. Within the world of the story, they serve a purpose in the lives of the protagonists. As elements of literary craft, they carry symbolic meaning that shapes the novel’s themes and messages.

Through various troubles, the protagonists meet their needs, in part, through their relationships with their dolls. Ethel nurtures Sissy by encouraging her to eat, and Winona surrounds Cora with love and softness to ease the pain of “sharp times.” The dolls offer protection, either directly—like when Ethel warns Sissy to keep quiet after Lillian’s death—or indirectly, as a coping mechanism—like when Ethel refuses to talk about Lillian’s death and Jesse calls her “the device [she] use[s] to hide from something [she] already know[s]” (209). In this way, Ethel protects Jesse from traumatic memories she’s not yet ready to face. Finally, the dolls are a source of emotional healing. Winona comforts the Dakhóta woman who is bereft at the death of her infant and motivates the woman to eat and speak again. 

Jesse recognizes the dolls’ healing function when she brings them together.