The Names

In this section, the far-reaching consequences of the names Cora gives to her infant son begin to emerge, highlighting The Large Impact of Small Choices. In Bear’s story, Cora’s son grows up free from his father’s influence when Gordon Sr. is jailed for killing Vihaan. Bear lives up to Maia’s hope that he will be “soft and cuddly and kind […] But also, brave and strong” (4-5). Combining the motifs of names and animals, Knapp depicts Bear as unconstrained in his appetite for life and in his relationships with others, giving “love as easily as he is loved” (53). She emphasizes his bond with his sister and mother through the names Bear assigns them—“Bees” and “Mama Bear”—underlining their natural connection.

Julian’s plotline offers an alternative reality in which Gordon kills Cora while the boy is still a toddler, foregrounding the novel’s thematic examination of The Effects of Domestic Abuse. In this version, Cora’s sense of fearlessness and her resolve to leave her husband in Part 1 eventually leads to her death. Knapp differentiates this narrative thread from the others through a change of setting—Julian and Maia grow up in a different country, and their Irish grandmother emerges as a key figure in their upbringing. By contrast, Gordon Jr.’s narrative charts the path of least resistance for Cora, as the Atkin family stays together and she defers to Gordon Sr.’s wishes. However, this outward impression of familial stability is undercut by the insidious nature of events that occur behind closed doors. The depiction of the escalating domestic abuse Cora suffers creates an atmosphere of claustrophobia and increasing menace as she is isolated from friends and family.

Knapp’s conflicted portrayal of seven-year-old Gordon Jr. illustrates the profound impact of dysfunctional family dynamics on a child’s developing character. While his invention of stories about Cora to gain his father’s approval contributes to her abuse, the incident where he writes “Luke” on the tag for his schoolbook tray hints at an unconscious aversion to becoming like his father. Gordon Jr.’s reflection that he wants to be “someone else. But he is Gordon” (80) underscores a self-loathing that is inextricably linked to his relationship with his father. His attraction to the name Luke, inspired by the Star Wars character Luke Skywalker, alludes to a subconscious desire to end Gordon Sr.’s abusive legacy, Breaking Free from Generational Cycles. It also hints at a latent affiliation with the name Cora wished to give him, meaning “sky father”—a connection that is underlined by Gordon Jr.’s decision to decorate his name tag with astral-themed illustrations.

Gordon Sr.’s abuse and its traumatic impact on his wife and his children provide a thematic link between all three narrative threads. In Bear’s narrative, Cora enjoys her new independence, but she still occasionally “hears [Gordon’s] voice in her head, the things he might say if he could hear her thoughts” (58). Of the Atkin siblings, Maia is the most profoundly traumatized, having witnessed her mother’s emotional and physical abuse. In Julian’s storyline, her bed-wetting is presented as a symptom of hearing her father murder her mother. In Gordon Jr.’s narrative, Maia vomits as a visceral response to observing her father making Cora eat like an animal. In these instances, Maia’s body expresses emotions that are too painful for her to process or articulate. Meanwhile, Gordon Jr. illustrates how patterns of abusive behavior can be passed down through generations. Knapp emphasizes the ways the seven-year-old has internalized his father’s voice when he reflects that “his mum can’t be trusted to go shopping” (77). Across the novel, Gordon Jr.’s arc centers on unlearning the abusive patterns and behaviors that his father modeled.