Lt. Bev: Chapter 12 Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

On Sunday, July 31—the fifth day of the search for Valerie Gillis—Lieutenant Beverly (Bev) is driving home after parting with her colleague Rob when she spots Janet Gillis handing out missing-person flyers outside an IGA grocery store. Bev turns her truck around and joins Janet, who is energetically distributing flyers to shoppers, including a teenager and a nurse who offers to post one at the hospital. Janet tells Bev she doesn't understand Maine, calling it wild and beautiful but heartless. Bev agrees, and they share a moment looking at the stars.

As Janet runs out of flyers, she hugs Bev and thanks her, saying she thinks Bev wants to find Valerie almost as badly as she does. After they part, Bev returns to her truck and listens to a voicemail from her sister Kate. Kate explains that their mother has taken a turn for the worse and is unconscious; the doctor has asked about a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order. Kate and their sister Faith want to change the directions to DNR, but they need Bev's agreement. Kate urges Bev to let go, saying she can't save their mother this time.

Driving south under a clear sky, Bev reflects on her past. She remembers her father, a furniture salesman who loved fly-fishing and introduced her to the outdoors, treating her as both son and daughter. She recalls her mother's religious conversion and the church service where a minister spoke of God's infinite love, which resonated with Bev's own feelings for her mother. She also remembers the day she was offered a position in the Warden Service—one of the happiest days of her life—and how her mother expressed doubts, asking if Bev disliked being a woman and suggesting her father had influenced her. Bev tried to explain her love for the woods, but her mother dissolved into tears, calling Bev her “special angel.” Bev concludes that the backcountry is her mother.

Key Events

Bev spots Janet Gillis handing out flyers at an IGA and stops to help.
Janet gives flyers to a teenager and a nurse; the nurse promises to post one at the hospital.
Janet and Bev talk about Maine's wildness and the difficulty of the search.
Janet runs out of flyers and hugs Bev, expressing gratitude.
Bev listens to a voicemail from her sister Kate about their mother's condition and the DNR decision.
Bev recalls her father's influence, her mother's religious conversion, and the day she got the Warden Service job.
Her mother's doubts about a woman becoming a game warden are revealed.

Character Development

Beverly (Lt. Bev) – This chapter deepens Bev's internal world. She is a dedicated warden who feels off duty even when she isn't, still wearing her bulletproof vest and sidearm. Her encounter with Janet shows her empathy and her ability to connect with the families of the missing. The voicemail from Kate forces her to confront her role as a caregiver: she has always been the reliable oldest daughter, essential to her mother, and now she must decide whether to let go. Her memories reveal a woman shaped by her father's outdoor mentorship and her mother's fear and conventionality. Bev's realization that the backcountry is her mother suggests she has found a different kind of maternal love in nature—one that is wild, demanding, and ultimately fulfilling.

Janet Gillis – Janet is portrayed as a mother whose love is “dauntless” and “unending.” Even as the search drags on and odds worsen, she finds fresh strength to hand out flyers and engage strangers. Bev observes that Janet's qualities—beautiful, friendly, a poet soul—are reflected in Valerie. Janet's hug and her comment that Bev wants to find Valerie almost as much as she does highlight her perceptiveness and her gratitude.

Bev's Mother (Ma) – Though not present in the present-day scene, Ma looms large in Bev's memories. She is a timid, conventional woman who experienced a religious conversion and who worried about Bev's career choice. Her question “There's want and can” reveals her fear that Bev might not be able to handle the work, and her tears show her deep anxiety. Bev's protective feelings toward her mother are evident, even as she acknowledges her mother's limitations.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Dauntless maternal love – Janet's relentless effort to find Valerie embodies a love that refuses to give up, even when hope is thin. Bev's own love for her mother is similarly fierce, though it manifests in caregiving and protection.
Indifferent stars – The stars appear twice in the chapter, described as “those stars that don't care.” They symbolize the vast, indifferent natural world that contrasts with human emotion and effort.
Backcountry as mother – Bev explicitly states that the backcountry is her mother. This metaphor suggests that nature provides the nurturing, challenging, and unconditional presence that her biological mother could not fully offer.
Duty and letting go – Kate's voicemail forces Bev to confront the tension between her sense of duty to her mother and the need to let go. This theme echoes Bev's professional duty as a warden, where she must sometimes accept that a search cannot succeed.
Gender expectations in profession – Bev's mother's doubts about a woman becoming a game warden highlight societal expectations. Bev's success in the field challenges those norms, but her mother's fear lingers.
Divine love and religious conversion – The minister's message about God's infinite, no-fine-print love resonates with Bev, who understands it through her own love for her mother. This motif connects human love to a larger spiritual dimension.
Family memory and legacy – Bev's recollections of her father's fly-fishing and her mother's conversion show how family shapes identity. Her father's embrace of her as both son and daughter prepared her for the outdoors.
Wildness of Maine – Janet's comment that Maine is “wild and beautiful, but heartless” reflects the setting's dual nature, which mirrors the search's difficulty and the characters' resilience.
Caregiving burden – Bev's role as the essential oldest daughter, running errands and planning parties, illustrates the weight of caregiving that continues into her adult life.
Want versus can – Ma's distinction between wanting something and being able to do it underscores her fear for Bev, but Bev's success proves that want and can can align.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter provides crucial backstory for Lieutenant Beverly, transforming her from a professional searcher into a fully realized character with personal stakes. It deepens the novel's exploration of maternal love, duty, and the tension between human effort and an indifferent universe. The parallel between Janet's search for Valerie and Bev's impending decision about her mother creates a powerful emotional resonance. Bev's memory of her mother's doubts about her career also highlights the gender barriers she has overcome, adding depth to her role as a female warden. The chapter sets up a likely emotional turning point for Bev, as she must reconcile her lifelong role as a caregiver with the necessity of letting go.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does Bev's encounter with Janet Gillis affect her perspective on the search?

Bev sees Janet's strength and love, which makes her admire Janet's resilience. Janet's comment that Bev wants to find Valerie almost as much as she does suggests that Bev is emotionally invested beyond her professional duty. This encounter likely reinforces Bev's commitment to the search, even as she faces personal turmoil.

2. What does the metaphor “the backcountry is my mother” reveal about Bev's relationship with nature and her biological mother?

The metaphor suggests that Bev finds in the wilderness the nurturing, unconditional presence she craved from her mother. Her biological mother was timid, fearful, and often unavailable due to illness, while the backcountry offers peace, satisfaction, and a sense of belonging. It also implies that Bev has transferred her maternal attachment to nature, which is both wild and demanding, yet ultimately fulfilling.

3. How does the voicemail from Kate force Bev to confront her role as a caregiver?

Kate's message asks Bev to agree to a DNR order, which would mean letting go of her mother. Bev has always been the essential, reliable daughter who does everything for her mother. The voicemail challenges her to accept that she cannot save her mother this time and that her duty may now be to allow a peaceful death. This conflict between duty and letting go is central to Bev's character development.