59 pages • 1-hour read
The Medicine Woman of Galveston
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Medicine Show
The medicine show is an important symbol and narrative device in the book. The inciting incident is Tucia’s decision to join the medicine show, but the nature of the medicine show is narratively and thematically important to the book. For one, the medicine show acts as a microcosm of the world. Huey’s treatment of his performers is a nod to how people with differences are marginalized, misunderstood, and exploited in society by those in power. Despite this, there is still room for connection, community, and joy, as Tucia experiences when she forms relationships with the other performers in the show.
The nature of the medicine show as a fraudulent enterprise allows for the thematic exploration of The Ethics of Survival, especially since Huey’s motivations for running the show and the other members’ reasons for being a part of it are vastly different. Huey’s role in the show is symbolic of the presence of human greed and exploitation in society; his looting of the dead after the storm reiterates how there are elements in society that attempt to profit off of tragedy.
In contrast, Tucia and the other characters reiterate the “impossible choices” that life offers people in difficult circumstances, opening up the exploration of what is considered ethical or excusable in the context of survival. Additionally, their behavior post the storm, in particular the support they lend each other and the medical aid Tucia selflessly offers everyone she meets, highlights the innate goodness of human nature that coexists alongside the greed and avarice.
The Galveston Hurricane
The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is an important symbol and plot device in the book. It generates the climactic end of the book, bringing both narrative tension to the story and a much-needed opportunity for change to the characters’ lives. The storm also becomes a crisis that brings forth the deepest, most inherent traits in the main characters: Huey is solidified as the villain with no redeeming qualities, just as Tucia’s growth and inherent goodness are revealed through her actions.
The hurricane also represents a fresh start. For Tucia, the aftermath of the hurricane allows her to display her medical capabilities, break free of Huey’s bondage, and reorient toward the things that are truly important to her. Just as external circumstances are what kept Tucia and the other performers tied to Huey’s show, so it is an external incident—the hurricane—that frees them from this situation as well. Personal disasters in each of their pasts set their lives onto challenging paths, and an environmental disaster now allows them to change course. Additionally, the storm helps serve poetic justice within the narrative: Huey, who has consistently exploited other people’s tragedies, is finally made to answer for his crimes following the cataclysmic event of the storm.
Kit the Monkey
Kit the monkey is an important symbol in the book. Huey brings him to the medicine show in a cage, with the intention of having him perform in the show. However, Kit escapes and causes havoc, and doesn’t allow Huey to carry out his original intention. He eventually comes to live with Tucia and Toby as the latter’s pet, having bonded with the young boy. Kit’s existence is symbolic of the oppression and exploitation faced by the other performers in the show: Though they are not kept in literal cages, they are nevertheless coercively bound to the show. Kit’s escape and refusal to perform foreshadow how the other performers, too, will eventually find freedom.
Additionally, in keeping with Tucia’s mystical stage persona of the mind-reading and palm-reading “Madame Zabelle,” Kit is reminiscent of a witch’s familiar. Like a witch’s familiar is expected to, Kit does in fact come to Tucia’s aid, protecting her from being assaulted by the riders who accost her and Darl by biting one of the men. However, just as “Madame Zabelle’s” mystical powers are fictitious, so too is any real malevolence on Kit’s part: He ends up being a docile and lovable pet, amenable to all except Huey.
Unlock the meaning behind every key symbol & motif
See how recurring imagery, objects, and ideas shape the narrative.
- Explore how the author builds meaning through symbolism
- Understand what symbols & motifs represent in the text
- Connect recurring ideas to themes, characters, and events