Raising Hare

In these chapters, Chloe observes her own hare with its leverets and reflects on the way hares are perceived and depicted in the cultural imaginary, exploring the theme of Humanity’s Changing Relationship With Nature. She is particularly interested in Lewis Carrol’s depiction of the “Mad March Hare.” Carrol is not the only author to ascribe hares’ wild movements to “madness,” but his popular book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland did much to perpetuate the image of hares as erratic. She cannot reconcile these kinds of depictions with what she sees: Her own hare is fastidiously clean, and while certainly playful (she has even seen it boxing), it keeps to a strict schedule and is always keenly aware of its surroundings. She thinks about how little humans understand about the natural world and posits that perhaps a lack of observation and appreciation is at the root of much misunderstanding. If humans sought to know rather than alter the natural world, perhaps they would live more harmoniously with it.

Chloe’s relationship with the hare continues to demonstrate The Therapeutic Effects of Nature. Although Chloe allows the hare to set the boundaries of their relationship, she is continually struck by how often it seeks out her presence, how comfortable it is with her, and the “subtle weight of the invisible bond of trust” that they share (196). It soothes her to be in the presence of a wild animal that accepts her as part of its life. When the hare gives birth to leverets in her home, Chloe is even more awe-struck by her relationship with the hare. This seems to her to be the ultimate sign of trust. Chloe also continues to add plants to her garden, building up her body of knowledge about the flora and fauna native to her area. She remains interested in the natural world around her and does her best to add varieties of grasses, bushes, and smaller plants that will thrive in the unique soil of her region. She is developing a better understanding of the particularity of ecosystems and chooses not to introduce any plants that are not native to the area. She also continues to feel more attuned to nature. Because she has had a small door installed for the hare, she no longer sees the boundaries between outside and inside in the same way. She can hear the outside world while inside her house, and she notices both “normal” noises and sounds that signal a change in the atmosphere.

The Challenges and Rewards of Caregiving remain a key thematic focal point even though the leveret is now a fully grown hare. When it gives birth to young in her home, Chloe feels not only a therapeutic sense of calm, but also pride that she has raised the leveret capable of interacting with others of its species, mating, and raising young. Although it chooses to return to her home each morning, not spending the entirety of its life in the wild, it remains “wild enough” to lead a normal hare’s existence. This was the original goal she set when she rescued it, and she feels a deep sense of accomplishment that she’s managed to fulfill what she perceived as her obligation to the animal. And yet, there are still fraught moments. The hare chews through her cable router cord, necessitating a repair. This moment of friction symbolizes the ever-present tension between wildness and human domesticity.

At this point in her narrative, lockdown is over, and people everywhere have begun to return to their normal lives. Chloe evidences the growth that she has undergone since taking the hare into her home in her own, new patterns: Rather than returning to London full time, she shares her country home, as a base of operations, with the hare. Like the hare, she leaves occasionally but returns. In part because she wants to continue to cohabit with the hare and in part because she no longer values urban over rural living, she chooses to stay in the countryside. She cannot imagine giving up the harmony with nature that she has cultivated and no longer sees herself as an urbanite. The leveret has wrought deep changes on her life, her priorities, and her identity.