What the Wind Knows

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 10

Chapters 11-19

Chapters 20-26

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Book Club Questions

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

The Wind

The title of the novel comes from something Eoin tells Annie: She doesn’t need to miss her mother because the wind outlasts humans and remembers them all. In the novel, wind symbolizes the connection between the past, present, and future. Even when Irish culture has been suppressed by the British occupation, the wind that blows across the island keeps the memory of old stories and the weight of history, spreading it from person to person—and even to the Irish diaspora abroad. When Annie travels through time, fog thickens the air on Lough Gill, an allusion to the wind that blows in the fog. The title “What the Wind Knows” is symbolic of all the things humans don’t know.

Thomas Smith’s Journal

Thomas Smith’s journal ends each chapter in the novel. His journal entries reveal an alternate side of the story to the main narrator, Annie. This is symbolic of the power dynamics in historical storytelling. Who gets to decide what stories are told? Often, whoever recounts history ignores or is ignorant of other layers to the story. By including Thomas’s journal as a complement to Annie’s central narration, Harmon shows two nuanced sides of the same story. Furthermore, Thomas bears witness to enormously important moments in Irish history. His firsthand accounts add historical context for Harmon’s novel and foreshadow conflicts. Thomas’s journals also serve as a symbol for intergenerational connection. Annie’s possession of the journals gives her access to her beloved when they are separated. These journals keep Thomas and Annie together despite their temporal gap.

Lough Gill

Lough Gill is the portal through which characters travel through time. It is the bridge between years. This portal is also symbolic of the ancient Celtic traditions of fairy stories. In many old Irish stories, Celtic figures travel to different and strange worlds through natural portals that lead to the kingdom of the fairies or other mythical places. Placing the time-travel portal in the Loch pays homage to folklore and emphasizes the transient nature of place. Because stories of mysterious travels known only to those who seek a person or place are common throughout old Irish literature, Annie’s story is believable to Celtic tale enthusiasts like Michael Collins and Thomas Smith. It also marks her as a Celtic heroine going home to claim her heritage. Lough Gill is both a magical space and a path to Annie’s rebirth.