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

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

The Voyager

The Voyager is a famous sunken ship among the merfolk. It functions as a symbol of the relationship between Emily’s parents, as well as direct support for The Resilient Nature of Love and Identity. In Chapter 2, after Emily and her mom return from the psychic, Emily’s mom remembers lines from a poem that describes a sunken ship of gold and white. Later, when Shona and Emily find The Voyager, Emily recognizes it from her mother’s description. Emily later learns the poem her mom recited was one Emily’s dad wrote for her mom because he proposed while the two visited The Voyager. Emily explores the Voyager with Shona, bringing the ship’s significance full circle. In this way, The Voyager also continues to be a symbol of human and merfolk relationships, since Emily and Shona go on to be the best of friends despite coming from two separate worlds.

The King of the Sea

The King of the Sea is the name of the boat where Emily and her mom live. The boat speaks to the theme of the resilient nature of love and identity, and the name of the boat is both a reference to Neptune and the relationship between Emily’s parents. Before Emily learns of her mermaid nature and family history, Emily’s boat-home seems like a strange place for them to live since her mother can’t swim and is afraid of the water. As Emily learns the truth of her dad and what happened before she was born, she realizes the boat is the one remaining part of her mom’s past—her way of subconsciously keeping her memories of Emily’s dad alive. After trying to swim to the merfolk prison and being unable to make the distance as a half-mermaid, Emily realizes she can use the boat—a human craft—to cover the distance her mermaid half couldn’t. By doing so, Emily links the two parts of who she is and comes to understand there is nothing wrong with being a child of two worlds.

The name of the boat is both fitting and ironic—fitting because the boat sits above the water and ironic because it refers to Neptune, who is the main force that keeps Emily’s parents apart. Emily’s parents both knew Emily’s dad would be caught and that the two of them would be forced apart. Despite this, they chose to remain together and enjoy what time they had, always hoping their worst fear would not be realized. The choice to rename the boat in Neptune’s image reveals that Emily’s parents didn’t fear what Neptune could do to them, which again speaks to the strength of love.

The Merfolk World

The merfolk world described within the novel is comprised of Rainbow Rocks, Shiprock, the prison, and Neptune’s palace. Many aspects of the merfolk world highlight the similarities to the human world, suggesting that the two groups aren’t all that different and that the separation is unjustified, speaking to the theme Having Pride in One’s Identity. Emily’s visits to Shiprock are characterized by classes, research, and feeling shunned for not belonging—all things Emily knows from her time at human schools. Though some of the classes at Shona’s school are unique to merfolk, others, like history, are shared by humans and merfolk alike.