As you read The Host, what does the story reveal about Wanda?
On page 105, Wanda thinks:
“Why did I no longer belong to the society of souls? Why did I feel like I didn’t… like I didn’t want to belong? Had I ever really been a part of the community that was meant to be my own, or was that the reason behind my long line of lives lived in transience? Had I always been an aberration, or was this something Melanie was making me into? Had this planet changed me, or revealed me for what I already was?”
How much of the doubt that Wanda experiences is influenced by her relationship with Melanie, who reminds her of the parasitic nature of their relationship day after day by not quietly acquiescing to Wanda’s control?
If you’ve already finished the book, would you say that living among the humans changes Wanda? Or does it simply make it possible for her to see the type of creature she really is? Do you think Wanda could ever experience the same changes if she’d stayed within the souls’ community?
1 response so far ↓
Kathy Andersen // November 14, 2008 at 11:06 pm |
I don’t think Wanda’s experiences with the humans were the only reason she changed her thinking. I think the doubt/questions existed before she met Melanie, maybe because of her expansive knowledge of the universe. She was out of place as soon as she awoke on Earth.
Maybe Earth was that one last piece she needed to understand. We don’t hear much about other souls, they seem much more naïve and childish. Maybe with the same experience they would feel similar.
Of course the third person perspective from Melanie was the key, but if the key hole of doubt had not been there it would have been just another alien-host relationship.