The Winter People

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death by suicide, pregnancy loss, and child death.

Many of the characters in The Winter People have been impacted by death and loss in a way that has changed them, physically and mentally. The novel portrays how the death or loss of a loved one can change a person. While it can provoke mental instability, it can also be a motivator to take action. The ability to revive the dead through the “sleeper” ritual, despite the consequences, show the desperate measures a grieving person will take to see their lost loved one again.

It is normal after the death of a loved one to experience depression, sadness, and grief. This is shown through the experiences of the three primary protagonists, Sara, Katherine, and Ruthie. After her daughter’s body was found in the well, Sara’s world is shattered. She describes feeling “as though [she is] floating outside [her] body” (120). She rejects the sympathy of others, preferring instead to stay in bed alone. She refuses to eat.

Katherine goes through a similar mourning process following the death of her son and husband. She leaves behind everyone and everything she knows in Boston, withdrawing into herself and her private world.