The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

“Edward’s mistress was a ten-year-old, dark-haired girl named Abilene Tulane, who thought almost as highly of Edward as Edward thought of himself.” 

This moment describes the relationship dynamic between Edward and his first owner, Abilene. She loves him dearly, but Edward doesn’t return her love. It’s because of his inability to love Abilene that Pellegrina says she’s “disappoint[ed]” (33) in him.

“Only Abilene’s grandmother spoke to him as Abilene did, as one equal to another. Pellegrina was very old. She had a large, sharp nose and bright, black eyes that shone like dark stars. It was Pellegrina who was responsible for Edward’s existence. It was she who had commissioned his making, she had ordered his silk suits and his pocket watch, his jaunty hats and his bendable ears, his fine leather shoes and his jointed arms and legs, all from a master craftsman in her native France. It was Pellegrina who had given him as a gift to Abilene on her seventh birthday.” 

This quote is one of the only descriptions of Pellegrina and reveals that she had Edward made as a gift for Abilene. Since Edward was made specifically for Abilene, it disappoints Pellegrina that he doesn’t return Abilene’s affections. Although she is not described to a great length, Pellegrina is central to illustrating Edward as a sentient being, as both she and Abilene address him directly. 

“Edward did not care at all for the word bunny. He found it derogatory in the extreme.” 

Edward thinks very highly of himself and hates to be called a toy, a doll, or a rabbit because he considers himself equal with humans. He projects this disdain on the toys and dolls he meets throughout his life, separating himself from what would be considered as his own kind.

“She left Edward on the shelf at a most awkward and inhuman angle—his nose was actually touching his knees; and he waited there, with the dolls twittering and giggling at him like a flock of demented and unfriendly birds, until Abilene came home from school and found him missing and ran from room to room calling his name.” 

This demonstrates that other toys have sentience like Edward. While the reader never learns why or how the toys have a consciousness, this quote reveals that it’s not unique to Edward. However, only Edward seems to acknowledge the other toys as capable of thought and emotion, such as derision. 

“Pellegrina took Edward from Abilene. She put him in his bed and pulled the sheet up to his whiskers. She leaned close to him. She whispered, ‘You disappoint me.’” 

This moment comes right after Pellegrina tells Edward and Abilene the story of the princess who couldn’t love and subsequently turned into a warthog, hunted, and eaten. Pellegrina makes it clear that life without love is pointless and that Edward is like the princess because he doesn’t return Abilene’s love. The concept of disappointment repeats throughout Edward’s journey. 

“And then he remembered Pellegrina’s description of the beautiful princess. She shone as bright as the stars on a moonless night. For some reason, Edward found comfort in these words and he repeated them to himself—as bright as the stars on a moonless night, as bright as the stars on a moonless night—over and over until, at last, the first light of dawn appeared.” 

Edward is thinking about Pellegrina’s story. He muses that it was a pointless story, and rather than considering the moral, he ruminates over the description of the stars. Throughout the novel, Edward is consistently drawn to the stars and finds comfort in gazing at them. Edward can’t physically sleep, so while his human companions rest, the stars are his only company. 

“Edward, as usual, was disregarding the conversation. A breeze was blowing in off the sea, and the silk scarf wrapped around his neck billowed out behind him. On his head, he wore a straw boater. The rabbit was thinking that he must look quite dashing.” 

This moment happens right before Edward is thrown off the deck of the ship by the two little boys who tease Abilene. Edward has no idea what’s about to happen because he’s too self-absorbed, thinking how wonderful he must appear in his stylish clothing. As Edward sheds his vanity, he becomes a more self-aware and empathetic character.

“How does a china rabbit die? Can a china rabbit drown? Is my hat still on my head? These are the questions that Edward asked himself as he went sailing out over the blue sea.” 

This reveals Edward’s heart immediately after he’s separated from Abilene; he doesn’t think about how he will miss her, but rather he contemplates his own mortality and how he looks. He associates Abilene with material comfort and luxury as opposed to emotional comfort.

“Far above him, the ocean liner, with Abilene aboard it, sailed blithely on; and the china rabbit landed, finally, on the ocean floor; face-down; and there, with his head in the muck, he experienced his first genuine and true emotion. Edward Tulane was afraid.” 

Like the previous quote, this moment further reveals the notion that Edward never loved Abilene, considering his first real emotion occurs here, and it’s fear, not love. Likewise, Edward is not yet capable of considering how the loss of her china rabbit will affect Abilene. He can think only of himself.

“He considered, too, the fate of the beautiful princess who had become a warthog. Why had she become a warthog? Because the ugly witch turned her into one—that was why. And then the rabbit thought about Pellegrina. He felt, in some way that he could not explain to himself, that she was responsible for what had happened to him. It was almost as if it was she, and not the boys, who had thrown Edward overboard. She was like the witch in the story. No, she was the witch in the story.” 

At the bottom of the ocean, Edward contemplates how he’s so far away from the stars, and why the princess was turned into a warthog. He decides that there was no motive for the witch to do such a thing, and in this way he defends the princess. This moment is important because Edward makes a parallel between himself and the princess as well as between Pellegrina and the witch. He believes that Pellegrina is punishing him for some reason, but just as he can’t understand why the princess was turned into a warthog, he can’t understand why Pellegrina is punishing him. 

“The storm, in its ferocity, actually flung him all the way out of the sea; and the rabbit glimpsed, for a moment, the light of an angry and bruised sky; the wind rushed through his ears. It sounded to him like Pellegrina laughing. But before he had time to appreciate being above water, he was tossed back down into the depths.” 

A massive storm comes and sweeps Edward from the bottom of the ocean. Edward views the storm and Pellegrina as similarly threatening and powerful, and he equates the old woman as the impetus behind his unfortunate circumstances.

“In fact, Edward Tulane was so happy to be back among the living that he did not even take umbrage at being referred to as ‘it.’” 

Edward has just been saved from the depths of the sea by a fisherman, and the man refers to Edward as “it.” Normally, Edward would be angry at this description, but he’s so grateful to be rescued that he can’t be mad. This moment is a turning point for Edward, where, for the first time, he feels thankful for someone beyond himself. This is the very beginning of a monumental change that happens to Edward over the course of the rest of the novel.

“There’s your North Star right there. Don’t never have to be lost when you know where that fellow is.” 

This quote comes from Lawrence, the fisherman who rescues Edward from the sea. In this moment, he’s telling Edward about the different constellations in the night sky. This is significant because the stars have always fascinated Edward, and for the first time, he’s realizing that they have names and a purpose. It’s also an important moment because it deals with one of the themes of the novel: what it means to be lost and found. 

“And Edward was surprised to discover that he was listening. Before, when Abilene talked to him, everything seemed so boring, so pointless. But now, the stories Nellie told struck him as the most important thing in the world and he listened as if his life depended on what she said. It made him wonder if some muck from the ocean floor had gotten inside his china head and damaged him somehow.” 

This moment describes how Edward has grown to like Nellie’s stories. She bakes often, and as she bakes she talks to Edward like a lifelong companion. The excerpt highlights the difference between Edward’s reactions to Abilene’s conversations versus his reaction to Nellie’s stories. He admits that he found Abilene’s talk arbitrary yet finds Nellie’s meaningful, but it’s not because Abilene or Nellie’s words are inherently that way. Rather, Edward notices a different reaction because he himself is changing, and his reaction to the people around him is changing as well. Ultimately, he’s beginning to learn how to love. However, he initially views this change as a defect. 

“Edward felt a sharp pain somewhere deep inside his china chest. For the first time, his heart called out to him. It said two words: Nellie. Lawrence.”

This moment comes after Edward is thrown into the garbage by Lawrence and Nellie’s daughter, Lolly. While this moment is similar to the time Edward was separated from Abilene because he is again alone, his reaction is now noticeably different. When he was separated from Abilene, he thought only of his own mortality and his clothing, whereas here he feels pained at being separated from the people that cared for him. This further demonstrates Edward’s shift into feeling love, although he doesn’t yet recognize that this is happening. 

“But after forty days and nights had passed, the weight and the smell of the garbage above and below him clouded Edward’s thoughts, and soon he gave up thinking about revenge and gave in to despair. It was worse, much worse, than being buried at sea. It was worse because Edward was a different rabbit now. He couldn’t say how he was different; he just knew that he was. He remembered, again, Pellegrina’s story about the princess who had loved nobody. The witch turned her into a warthog because she loved nobody. He understood that now.” 

This moment occurs after Edward has spent 40 days under a pile of trash, completely alone and unable to see the stars. Edward reacts differently here than when he was on the ocean floor. While he is alone and surrounded by darkness in both instances, he admits that it’s worse being under the trash pile because he himself has changed. In this way, he is gradually becoming more self-aware. This is further evidenced by the fact that he now understands why the princess was turned into a warthog, and why he disappointed Pellegrina—because he didn’t love Abilene enough. After these realizations, he wonders if his longing for Nellie and Lawrence is love. 

“‘Perhaps,’ said the man, ‘you would like to be lost with us. I have found it much more agreeable to be lost in the company of others. My name is Bull. Lucy, as you may have surmised, is my dog. Would you care to join us?’” 

This quote comes from Bull, the vagabond whose dog rescues Edward from the trash pile. Important to note is Bull’s idea of being lost. While the reader doesn’t find out Bull’s backstory, Bull later admits that his constant wandering is ironic because he never has anywhere to go. In this way, he is perpetually lost. So, too, has Edward been lost form Abilene. The greater connection between Bull and Edward’s similar sense of being lost is a theme that the author develops as the novel progresses. 

“During the night, while Bull and Lucy slept, Edward, with his ever-open eyes, stared up at the constellations. He said their names, and then he said the names of the people who loved him. He started with Abilene and then went on to Nellie and Lawrence and from there Bull and Lucy, and he ended again with Abilene: Abilene, Nellie, Lawrence, Bull, Lucy, Abilene. See? Edward told Pellegrina. I am not like the princess. I know about love.” 

Edward recounts the name of the people that have loved him, as not to forget them. This is like how the other vagabonds whisper the names of the loved ones they’ve left behind in Edward’s ear. In both instances, whether for the men or for Edward, the repetition of names allows them to keep the memory of their loved ones alive. For Edward in particular, it helps him better understand love. The repetition of Abilene’s name emphasizes that Edward has fully acknowledged his change in character.

“Whatever it was that had begun in Nellie’s kitchen, Edward’s new and strange ability to sit very still and concentrate the whole of his being on the stories of another, became invaluable around the hobo campfire.” 

This moment illustrates a huge part of what it means for Edward to love. He genuinely, intensely cares about what other people say and feel. The other characters that encounter Edward seem to recognize that he’s listening to them, and they immediately trust him enough to be honest and vulnerable.

“Edward didn’t care what she said. The terrible ache he had felt the night before had gone away and had been replaced with a different feeling, one of hollowness and despair. Pick me up or don’t pick me up, the rabbit thought. It makes no difference to me.” 

This moment comes after Edward is separated from Bull and Lucy. Like his time with Abilene, Lawrence, and Nellie, Edward is abruptly ripped away from the lives of those who love him. Once he understands what it means to be loved, he can’t stand the loneliness of being separated from them. 

“Never in his life had Edward been cradled like a baby. Abilene had not done it. Nor had Nellie. And most certainly Bull had not. It was a singular sensation to be held so gently yet so fiercely, to be stared down at with so much love. Edward felt the whole of his china body flood with warmth.” 

This is the moment that Edward first meets Sarah Ruth, and he immediately loves her. Important to note is that Sarah Ruth is the first character that Edward admits to loving. While Edward acknowledges that his previous owners loved him, he never admits to loving them in return. In this way, Sarah Ruth is the first character that makes Edward confront his own feelings of love for someone beyond himself. 

“Edward felt a pang of sorrow, deep and sweet and familiar. Why did she have to be so far away? If only I had wings, he thought, I could fly to her.”

Edward experiences his first dream, which happens after his head was broken by the diner owner, Neal. Here, he dreams that he is surrounded by everyone he has lost—everyone except Sarah Ruth. She has now become a star, but without wings, he is unable to reach her. This dream shows that his love for Sarah Ruth runs deep and extends beyond even his normal waking consciousness.

“‘I have been loved,’ said Edward. ‘I have been loved by a girl named Abilene. I have been loved by a fisherman and his wife and a hobo and his dog. I have been loved by a boy who played the harmonica and by a girl who died. Don’t talk to me about love,’ he said. ‘I have known love.’” 

In this chapter, a master doll mender has repaired Edward, and the fixed-up china rabbit is sitting on a display shelf in the man’s shop. He’s seated next to a doll who mocks Edward for not wanting to be bought. Edward defends his position, maintaining that he has been loved and how the thought of loving again is too painful to think about because it will inevitably be accompanied by loss.