Call Me Athena: Questions and Answers

Here are 15 questions and answers grounded in the opening chapters and author’s note of Call Me Athena. Each answer is supported directly by the book’s evidence, with context and interpretation.

1. What does the brush fire metaphor in Chapter 1 reveal about Mary’s emotional state?

The metaphor shows Mary feels grief as an unstoppable force. She stomps on a cinder but the fire spreads, leaving her with a useless bucket. This suggests helplessness and loss of control, setting the emotional tone for her journey.

Evidence context: Chapter 1, “Call Me Athena,” is a free-verse poem comparing grief to a brush fire that “begins with a glowing cinder” and “changes everything in its path.” Mary “stand[s] there / with a useless / bucket in [her] hands.”
Interpretation: The poem introduces Mary’s internal landscape before any plot unfolds. Grief is not a passive sadness but an active destroyer, foreshadowing how past losses will shape her decisions. This aligns with the theme of grief and loss.

2. Why does Colby Cedar Smith include the RMS Olympic manifest in the Author’s Note?

The manifest grounds her story in a real document. It lists her great-grandparents as passengers on the sister ship to the Titanic. Smith also spots her own first name written by the porter, which she interprets as a sign that she was meant to write this story.

Evidence context: In the Author’s Note, Smith describes the manifest: “Note that my first name, Colby, also appears on the manifest twice in the porter’s handwriting. This was one of the many reasons I felt called to write this story.”
Interpretation: The manifest bridges fact and fiction. By including it, Smith invites readers to see the novel as a creative reconstruction of real lives, not pure invention. It also reinforces her personal connection to the narrative.

3. How does the Author’s Note explain the balance between historical truth and fiction?

Smith admits she “changed the actual events quite a bit.” She used historical documents, research, travels, and family stories to reconstruct her great-grandparents’ journeys, but prioritized a compelling narrative over strict accuracy.

Evidence context: “I changed the actual events quite a bit… I tried to create a narrative with twists and turns and engaging imagery.”
Interpretation: This transparency allows readers to enjoy the story without mistaking it for biography. It also highlights the theme of legacy and memory — how family history is filtered through imagination and retelling.

4. What does the author reveal about her grandmother Mary’s character and achievements?

Mary became a successful businesswoman in the 1950s, a time when women rarely entered boardrooms. She “rocked the pantsuit” when aprons and pearls were expected, and she never let misfortune hold her back.

Evidence context: Smith writes that Mary “became a successful businesswoman in the 1950s… she rocked the pantsuit at a time when women were expected to wear aprons and pearls.”
Interpretation: Mary defied gender roles and expectations long before the second-wave feminist movement. Her courage serves as a model for the character Mary in the novel, who must also fight for independence.

5. Why does the author say she felt “called to write this story”?

Beyond the coincidental appearance of her name on the ship manifest, Smith sensed her ancestors’ voices guiding her. She writes that “the story became so strong and insistent that it felt like my ancestors were whispering in my ear.”

Evidence context: “At times, the story became so strong and insistent that it felt like my ancestors were whispering in my ear, telling me what to write. And I listened to the voices.”
Interpretation: This claim frames the novel as an act of devotion and spiritual inheritance. It suggests that identity and independence are not solely personal but inherited across generations.

6. How does the idea of “ancestral voices” function in the Author’s Note?

Smith describes the narrative whispering to her, which implies she acted as a conduit for her family’s untold stories. This blurs the line between authorial imagination and the remembered voices of the dead.

Evidence context: Same passage as above: “it felt like my ancestors were whispering in my ear.”
Interpretation: The voices give the novel an oral‑history quality. Smith positions herself not as an omniscient writer but as a listener, which may explain the poetic, intimate style of Mary’s narration.

7. What contrast does the author draw between her grandmother Mary’s life and societal expectations of women in the 1950s?

Mary succeeded in business and wore pantsuits, while society expected women to wear “aprons and pearls” and stay out of boardrooms. Smith presents Mary as a trailblazer who defied convention.

Evidence context: “She rocked the pantsuit at a time when women were expected to wear aprons and pearls.”
Interpretation: This contrast underscores the theme of gender roles and expectations. The real Mary’s defiance mirrors the fictional Mary’s struggle for autonomy in 1930s Detroit.

8. How does the author’s personal connection to the manifest affect her storytelling?

Seeing her own first name on the historical document made Smith feel the story was destined for her. It added a layer of personal mission, influencing her to keep the RMS Olympic in the novel even though she changed the travel year.

Evidence context: “I wanted to keep this ship because I love the history… Note that my first name, Colby, also appears on the manifest twice.”
Interpretation: This coincidence is presented as fate, giving the book a mythic quality. It also signals that Smith’s identity is intertwined with her characters, making the narrative deeply personal.

9. What does the author mean by “the story became so strong and insistent”?

Smith suggests the narrative took on a life of its own, demanding to be written. She implies that the creative process was less about invention and more about recording something that already existed.

Evidence context: “At times, the story became so strong and insistent that it felt like my ancestors were whispering in my ear.”
Interpretation: This phrasing elevates the novel to a kind of dictated testimony. It may also foreshadow the intensity of Mary’s voice in the poetic chapters.

10. Why did the author change the date of her great-grandparents’ journey from 1920 to 1918?

Smith kept the RMS Olympic because of its history, even though her ancestors actually traveled in 1920. She prioritized the ship’s symbolic resonance — its connection to the Titanic and World War I troop transport — over chronological accuracy.

Evidence context: “In my novel, the characters Giorgos and Jeanne travel to the U.S. in 1918, not 1920, but I wanted to keep this ship.”
Interpretation: This change shows how the author reshapes facts to serve theme and imagery. The ship becomes a symbol of passage and danger, appropriate for the immigrant experience.

11. How does the author’s note about Alzheimer’s and memory relate to the theme of legacy?

Mary’s memories were erased by Alzheimer’s, but her stories survived in her family. Smith writes that “her stories live on — in our memories and in this book,” directly connecting memory loss to the importance of preserving legacy.

Evidence context: “She died at the age of 92. After years of struggling with Alzheimer’s, she forgot almost everything about her life. But her stories live on.”
Interpretation: The book itself becomes an act of resistance against forgetting. This ties to the theme of legacy and memory, suggesting that written stories outlast individual minds.

12. How does the author’s description of her grandmother as a “gifted storyteller” influence the novel’s style?

Real‑life Mary told stories with “rich details and passion,” never telling the same story twice. This oral tradition likely inspired the novel’s poetic, varied structure and its focus on sensory, emotional details.

Evidence context: “She could hold an entire room with her humor, her intellect, and her infectious, high-pitched laugh… the same story was never the same twice.”
Interpretation: The novel’s free‑verse chapters mimic the fluid, improvisational quality of spoken storytelling. This style invites readers to feel they are listening to Mary’s own voice.

13. What role does the photograph of the great-grandmother Jeanne play in the Author’s Note?

Smith includes a family photograph that Jeanne considered a failure because Mary’s foot wiggled, blurring the image. This anecdote humanizes Jeanne and shows that even imperfect snapshots carry historical weight.

Evidence context: “This picture was considered a failure by Jeanette, because Mary couldn’t stop wiggling her foot—the photograph was blurred.”
Interpretation: The “failure” becomes a cherished record, mirroring how imperfect family memories still hold value. It reinforces that the book itself is a blurred but beloved recreation of the past.

14. Why does the author dedicate the book to her grandmother Mary, and how does that shape the narrative?

Smith wrote the book primarily for Mary, whose independence and storytelling inspired her. This dedication frames the novel as a tribute, influencing its tone of reverence and its focus on Mary’s inner strength.

Evidence context: “Mainly, I wrote this book for my grandmother Mary… She never let her misfortune hold her back and always summoned the courage to do what she needed to do.”
Interpretation: Knowing the book is for Mary, readers may interpret the protagonist’s struggles as echoes of the real Mary’s life. The character of Mary therefore carries the weight of a real woman’s legacy.

15. What hidden tension exists between the Author’s Note and the fictional story that follows?

The note reveals that the author changed events and used imagination, yet the novel is presented as deeply true to the spirit of her family. This creates a tension between “authentic” memory and fictional enhancement.

Evidence context: “Although this book is based on the family stories… I changed the actual events quite a bit.” Yet she later says she “tried to represent my family well.”
Interpretation: Readers must hold two ideas at once: the story is invented, yet it honors real people. This tension mirrors the immigrant experience of constructing a new identity from fragments of the old world.