The Sea in Winter

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses mental illness, death, racism.

“And then, in a messier scrawl, I write: My ballet school has always been my sanctuary. I stare at this sentence. Tap my eraser against my chin. Suck in a deep breath and continue on: In the studio, I don’t have to worry about anything else that’s happening in my life, or in the world around me. From there, the words flow through me. I describe the bright, airy space in my favorite studio. The mirror-lined wall, the tall ceiling, the wide windows. The aluminum barres, the grand piano in the corner, the squeaky pearl-gray floors. The openness of it. The peacefulness of it.”

This passage establishes Maisie’s dual role as narrator and protagonist, and her halting words on the page also relate the essence of her inner crisis over being forced to abandon ballet. The metaphor of the “sanctuary” also suggests Maisie’s need to find a new source of spiritual support; at the moment, she has few creative outlets to replace her passion for dancing. Since her injury, the peace that dancing offered her has been lost, and the girl is now thrust into a difficult journey toward new healing and growth.

“When Mom was fourteen years old, the Makah Nation hunted a gray whale. It was their first whaling voyage in seventy years. They agreed to stop hunting them when whales were listed as an endangered species. They waited until the Pacific populations were stable before legally asking for permission to resume this ancient tradition. They received permission. But it was a controversial situation.”

Throughout the novel, Day offers insights into different Indigenous cultures’ past history, focusing particularly on the culture of the Makah tribe. The quotation alludes to the historical gray whale hunt that the Makah people initiated in the late 1990s. The Makah had refrained from the traditional practice of whaling due to the whale’s endangered status, and the novel characterizes this brief revival of whaling as a significant moment for the Makah Nation: one that helped the Makah people reconnect with their cultural identity and communal bonds. However, when the tribe faced threats and violence, the practice was banned again. The story furthers the novel’s thematic focus on