Garden Spells

This final section of the book contains the dramatic action that provides the turning point for several storylines and resolves the major character arcs. Three of the storylines end with new romance, for Sydney, Claire, and Fred, while Emma’s declaration of love from Hunter John confirms their commitment to one another. Bay finds her sense of belonging satisfactorily confirmed, and Evanelle, who has all along provided an example of a fulfilled life and a sense of security with one’s gifts, contributes information that helps the Waverley sisters understand their mother a little better and come to terms with their own place in the family, offering closure through Healing Generational Wounds.

Many of these plot and character resolutions reflect on the themes of identity and choice. When Emma brings up her anxiety that Hunter John might still feel attached to Sydney, he explains that he’s no longer the person he was when he was in love with Sydney. He’s changed and matured, something Sydney also recognized when they spoke at the salon. Hunter John confirms that he chose Emma as his wife and doesn’t feel he was manipulated or coerced by her, or by the family name he wants to live up to. This leads Emma to realize that it was her mother who had cultivated a rivalry between Sydney and Emma, in the past and now. This realization frees Emma to relate to her husband on her own terms, not according to the expectations of her mother or of Clark women more generally.

Similar realizations touching on their family legacy and identity free Sydney and Claire to pursue new opportunities for romantic love. Sydney acknowledges her history of being attracted to dangerous men but allows herself to entertain the possibility that she could be attracted to Henry, who is secure, stable, mature, and kind. Part of what makes Sydney able to reframe her expectations is that she gains a new understanding of the motives for her mother’s behavior. When she was younger, Sydney thought her mother’s lifestyle was romantic; it seemed daring to her that Lorelei moved around, dated frequently, traveled, and never settled down. Lorelei rejected Bascom and seemed to find happiness elsewhere, which led Sydney to try to replicate the same behaviors. When Evanelle suggests that the motive for Lorelei’s behavior was a desperate wish to avoid her death, which she saw after she ate one of the Waverley apples, Sydney sees her mother’s actions as less romantic and more tragic, not a lifestyle she wants to replicate. She wants security for Bay, but Sydney also acknowledges she wants security for herself. Henry is the sort of solid man who can provide this, in contrast to David, who is an overt threat to their lives.

Claire’s decision to pursue a relationship with Tyler necessitates a profound change in perspective for her, as getting hurt is a risk she has tried hard to avoid. Like Sydney’s revelation about their mother, Claire gains a new perspective on her grandmother’s life. Claire has modeled her behaviors on an older woman who preferred independence and endured the tragedy of losing her daughter. Learning that her grandmother was young and wild once, enjoyed romantic relationships, and relished sensual pleasures gives Claire permission to do the same. It takes Sydney advising her that the potential hurt or conflicts in relating to people are repaid by the joys of love and connection to persuade Claire to take the chance to communicate her feelings to Tyler. For both sisters, healing generational wounds by recalibrating their perspective on their role models allows them to open themselves to nurturing relationships with a romantic partner and with each other.

The last chapter, Part 3, is told from Bay’s point of view, giving her the last word. Her experience becomes both a reflection on the currents that came before and an optimistic look at the future, bearing out the title of “Foresight.” Bay finally replicates the image she saw in her dream, which confirms her sense of belonging in Bascom and in the Waverley family and home, confirming The Influence of Place on Identity. With the photographs of her grandmother rustling in the treetop above her, while lying in the garden that her great-grandmother tended, Bay, too, changes her perspective to a more optimistic outlook. She provides confirmation that the hurts of the past can be mended and that a sense of belonging in a nurturing family can heal even the trauma of neglect and abuse. As she is the next generation of Waverley women, Bay’s comfort with the family heritage and with her special gift suggests that the family lineage will continue to be honored.

The appendix of plants that the Waverley women have cultivated reflects the urban fantasy elements of the text, not least of which is the way the apple tree becomes an active character in the action in these last scenes. The consequences of its gift can be troubling, as the examples of David and Lorelei show. While the tree protects its family by giving David an apple and thereby the vision that chases him away, the fear he feels supports Claire’s point that knowing the biggest event of one’s life can be deeply troubling. This seems to be what Lorelei found, but in contrast, Tyler’s biggest event is falling in love with Claire, a desirable outcome. The relationship the Waverleys have with their tree remains conflicted as they recognize its good qualities but still feel the need to control the distribution of its gifts. This leaves open questions about The Appropriate Exercise of Talent, even as the novel offers an optimistic outlook for the future of its central characters.