Themes Call Me Athena Colby Cedar Smith

Forging a Self: Identity and Independence in Call Me Athena

Thematic Claim: A Woman’s Right to Define Herself

In Call Me Athena, the theme of identity and independence centers on Mary Skandalaris’s struggle to become a modern American woman while her parents cling to Old World expectations. The novel argues that true independence requires not only outward rebellion but an inner reclamation of one’s own story—a process that is painful, gradual, and inseparable from grief. Mary’s journey shows that identity is not inherited but built, often by standing alone with a “useless bucket” as the old certainties burn away.

Tracing the Theme Through the Plot

1. The Brush Fire of Grief and Transformation

Chapter 1 opens with Mary’s metaphor of grief as a brush fire. She watches a spark grow into an unstoppable blaze, leaving her helpless. This image immediately connects identity to loss: Mary’s sense of self has been consumed by something she cannot control. The fire “changes everything in its path” and forces her to reimagine who she is. The spark is not only grief but the first flicker of independence—a realization that her parents’ world cannot protect her. The “useless bucket” symbolizes the old tools (obedience, silence, tradition) that no longer work. Here Mary is still passive, but the fire has begun.

2. The Author’s Note: A Real-Life Model of Independence

Colby Cedar Smith’s Author’s Note reveals that the real Mary Skandalaris became a successful businesswoman in the 1950s, “when women were expected to wear aprons and pearls.” She “had to fight for her independence.” This real-world outcome frames the novel’s theme: Mary’s fictional journey is a prequel to that defiant adult life. Smith also notes that the RMS Olympic manifest lists her great-grandparents’ immigration—a document that carries her own first name, “Colby,” which she took as a sign she was meant to write the story. This blending of personal and inherited identity underscores that independence does not erase heritage; it reinterprets it.

3. The Struggle Against Parental Expectations (Implied from Context)

Although the supplied excerpts do not include scenes with Mary’s parents, the page context tells us that Mary must define herself against her Greek immigrant father and French immigrant mother. The parent characters—Giorgos Skandalaris and Jeanne Skandalaris—represent fixed identities rooted in their homelands. Mary’s twin sister may embody a contrasting path of conformity. Mary’s independence means rejecting her parents’ definition of a “good daughter” and choosing her own American future. The novel likely dramatizes this conflict through scenes of defiance, secret ambitions, and the pain of disappointing those she loves.

Character Connections to Identity

  • Mary Skandalaris – The protagonist whose identity is forged through loss and rebellion. She is named after the Greek goddess Athena (as the title suggests), linking her to wisdom and strategic self-invention. Yet she must call herself—not be called—Athena.
  • Mary’s Father (Greek Immigrant) – Represents patriarchal tradition. His expectations are shaped by survival and cultural preservation, which he sees as threatened by Mary’s Americanization.
  • Mary’s Mother (French Immigrant) – Adds a second layer of Old World pressure. Her French heritage may offer Mary a different kind of constraint or, paradoxically, a model of resistance.
  • Giorgos & Jeanne Skandalaris – As great-grandparents, their immigration story (recorded on the RMS Olympic manifest) is the foundation on which Mary must build her own identity. Their journeys from Greece and France represent the dual heritage she must reconcile.

Symbolic Connections

  • Brush Fire – As analyzed above, the fire is the central symbol of destructive transformation. It mirrors the emotional cost of independence: Mary must let the old self die before a new one can emerge.
  • RMS Olympic Manifest – A document of official identity. It lists names, ages, and origins—fixed labels that society uses to define a person. Mary’s independence is partly a struggle to move beyond that manifest, to become someone not predicted by arrival records. The fact that the author’s own first name appears on it suggests that identity can be both inherited and chosen.

Complexity and Contradiction

The theme contains an essential tension: independence does not mean rejecting the past entirely. Mary still carries her Greek and French roots even as she fights for an American future. The brush fire metaphor acknowledges that grief for what is lost (family approval, cultural belonging) remains part of the new identity. Furthermore, the author’s note reveals that the real Mary was a storyteller who “could hold an entire room” with her humor—suggesting that independence is not solitude but the power to shape one’s own narrative aloud. The contradiction is that Mary must both break from her family and keep their stories alive. Her independence is not a clean break but a reweaving of threads.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does the brush fire metaphor in Chapter 1 foreshadow Mary’s journey toward independence?
Answer: The fire represents the uncontrollable force of grief that consumes Mary’s old life. Her “useless bucket” shows that traditional responses (obedience, denial) cannot stop the change. This sets up independence as a process of letting go and rebuilding after loss.

2. In what ways do Mary’s parents represent different obstacles to her independence?
Answer: Her Greek immigrant father likely expects patriarchal authority and cultural continuity. Her French immigrant mother may impose a different set of Old World gender roles. Together they create a double bind where Mary is expected to embody both heritages while having no room to define herself.

3. Why does the author include her own name on the RMS Olympic manifest, and what does that reveal about identity?
Answer: The author sees her name as a sign that she was “called to write the story.” It blurs the line between inherited and self-chosen identity, suggesting that our identities are shaped by the ancestors we choose to listen to.

4. How does the real Mary’s adult life (described in the Author’s Note) inform our understanding of the theme?
Answer: The real Mary became a businesswoman in the 1950s, defying gender norms. This confirms that the fictional struggle leads to genuine independence. It also adds an intergenerational layer: Mary’s fight was not just for herself but for future storytellers like her granddaughter.

5. What is the “contradiction” in Mary’s independence, and which symbol best captures it?
Answer: The contradiction is that independence requires both breaking from family and honoring family stories. The brush fire symbol captures this: the old field burns, but the ash fertilizes new growth. Mary cannot become herself without first losing what she was expected to be.