The wild mustang Artemisia is a symbol of untamed freedom and the healing power of the natural world. She serves as a parallel to Maya, for both characters are violently separated from their families and left vulnerable. Artemisia’s fierce independence offers a stark contrast to the rigid confinement of Maya’s early life, representing the very liberation that Maya subconsciously seeks. This connection exhibits the nuances involved in Reconciling Human Connection with the Natural World, suggesting that the ideal relationship is one of mutual respect, not ownership.

Furthermore, Artemisia functions as a living link to the mother Maya cannot remember and the heritage that was stolen from her. The stories of her mother’s bond with the horse establish a legacy of fearlessness and connection with nature, and Maya works to reclaim this dynamic for herself. By releasing the horse to reunite with Remington at the end of the novel, Maya demonstrates that she has now fully embraced a love that does not seek to possess the untamable spirit that Artemisia represents.

The small, worn plastic horses are a symbol of Maya’s suppressed family identity. In the sterile, rule-bound world of her grandmother’s house, they are Maya’s only tangible connection to her mother and to the joyful, unrestrained life that Ellie represents.