The Tail of Emily Windsnap

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2003

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapters 9-12

Chapters 13-16

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Character Analysis

Emily

Emily is the protagonist and point-of-view character of The Tail of Emily Windsnap. As a human, Emily is self-conscious of her skinny legs and small body. However, the first time she transforms into a mermaid, she is amazed to find she has a “long, gleaming, purple-and-green tail, waving gracefully as [she] skimmed along in the water” (19). The sudden confidence Emily gains while describing herself as a mermaid supports Having Pride in One’s Identity and shows that her mermaid form is her true identity.

Emily’s greatest internal conflict is finding out who she is and where she fits in as a child of both the human and merfolk worlds. Her ability to sustain relationships with both her mom and Shona makes Emily a symbol of how the two worlds can be brought together to promote harmony between the species. In addition, Emily joining the two worlds presents a direct threat to Neptune’s power over the merfolk and the laws he has worked so hard to uphold. Emily’s refusal to give into such laws means she is a fighter, and her impassioned speech about love and family in Chapter 15 cuts to the heart of the novel as a story about letting people lead their own lives and not letting old prejudices prevent forward movement.

Shona

Shona Silkfin is a mermaid girl who’s the same age as Emily. When Emily first sees Shona, Emily instantly recognizes the other girl for what she is because of how mermaids are depicted in popular culture—perched upon a rock with long flowing hair and a shimmering tail. In addition, Shona is singing a high melody that Emily doesn’t recognize but that calls to how mermaids historically sang to lure ships onto rocks.

After the girls introduce themselves, Shona explains her song is for school. She wants to be a siren one day and is proud that, at her last choir concert, “five fishermen were seen wandering aimlessly toward the rocks during [her] solo performance” (37). The joy with which Shona reports this shows how modern-day merfolk have been kept in the dark by Neptune and his laws. Instead of understanding the past and looking to the future to see how relations with humans might be reached, the merfolk simply believe that all humans are bad because Neptune has told them so for years.

As Shona gets to know Emily and learns the truth about Emily’s family, she realizes that her desire to be a siren is misled. Shona needs to see the truth of what the merfolk have done to Emily to start thinking differently, and only after Shona sees Emily’s family together does Shona realize that the thing she’s always wanted might not be what she wants anymore.

Mr. Beeston

Mr. Beeston is a half-merman tasked with aiding Neptune’s quest to keep humans and merfolk apart. To do this, Mr. Beeston poses as the keeper of the lighthouse near where Emily’s boat is moored, which allows him to watch Emily for merfolk signs and continuously administer the memory-wiping drug to Emily’s mom. In appearance, Mr. Beeston is weathered and has two-toned eyes—one blue and one green—that represent that he is of both the human and merfolk worlds.

Mr. Beeston is a foil for Emily. While Emily believes merfolk and humans can be together because her parents have managed to continue loving each other despite efforts to make them stop, Mr. Beeston is wounded from being rejected by his human father, which has led him to believe there is no room in the world for families of both human and merfolk blood. With this hurt to back him up, Mr. Beeston dutifully serves Neptune, believing he is only doing what is best for Emily’s family. Unlike Emily, who has grown up knowing she is loved, Mr. Beeston can’t see past the pain of his childhood. Where Emily represents accepting change and moving forward, Mr. Beeston offers a counter, supporting stagnation and holding back to keep from being hurt.

Neptune

Neptune is the king of the merfolk and the primary antagonist of the novel. Neptune is the embodiment of The Relationship Between Identity and Power and he represents the consequences, both intended and unintended, of creating rules based on personal feelings or past hurts. Though it is never confirmed, Shona hypothesizes that Neptune created laws to keep humans and merfolk apart because a human woman jilted him years ago.

Regardless of whether this is true, it offers ample motivation for Neptune’s laws and how he uses those laws to further his political agenda. Neptune’s power over the merfolk is built largely on fear. When he travels to merfolk settlements, he requires elaborate parties to be held in his honor, which drain resources and disrupt daily life leading up to his arrival. Neptune is also known for the great storms he creates with his trident, which stir up the seas and sink human ships. These images call to ancient depictions of human sea gods as wrathful beings who brought destruction down upon their undeserving followers. By showing Neptune in this way, the narrative reveals that Neptune’s ideas and personality are out of date with both human attitudes and beliefs. Thus, Neptune’s rule over the merfolk is based on traditions of long ago, meaning his laws keep the merfolk from advancing into the modern day. So, while Neptune is an antagonist for Emily and her family, he is also an antagonist to all his people, even if he does not intend to be.