Lucia Gonne in Small Angels: Character Analysis and Sacrifice

Overview

Lucia Gonne is a central figure in Small Angels, a member of the Gonne family who grows up at Blanch Farm vineyard beside the sentient Mockbeggar Woods. From childhood, she exhibits an unusual connection to the woods, which are said to remember and listen to stories. She befriends the ghost Harry Child, a boy who died two centuries ago, and becomes entangled in the woods' power. Her arc moves from rebellious curiosity to guilt and self-loathing, and finally to a self-sacrificing act that is transformed by the power of retelling.

Plot Role and Significance

Lucia serves as a point-of-view character in several chapters, including “Mockbeggar’s Children” and “Lucia in Conclusion.” Her perspective gives readers direct access to the woods’ magic and the Gonne family’s secret history. She is the one who knows the woods best, and her actions drive the climax. As a child, she writes a new verse to Harry’s song, an act that Nan punishes by locking her in her room. Later, after her sister Elphine’s death, she and her sisters attempt to destroy the rose tree that anchors Harry’s ghost, but the attempt fails and the woods grow stronger. In the end, she offers herself to Harry to save Kate and the village, but her sisters and Kate tell a new story that saves her.

Motivations and Character Traits

Lucia is driven by a desire to be seen as good, to prove her grandmother Nan wrong. Nan repeatedly predicts she will come to a bad end, and Lucia internalizes this. She also carries deep guilt over Elphine’s death, believing she caused it. She wants to protect Kate, with whom she shares a romantic connection. Her love for the woods and for Harry as a friend is genuine, but it is complicated by the woods’ demands.

Her traits include bravery, impulsiveness, stubbornness, and a tendency toward self-loathing. She is described as having a “knack” for the woods—she never suffers the sickness that affects her sisters after exposure. She is also resourceful, as seen when she treats Alice with mint tea and bicarbonate. However, she is also seen as “bad” by Nan and the village, and she often lives down to that reputation.

Chronological Arc

Relationships

• Nan (grandmother): Nan is the matriarch who enforces rules about the woods and the monthly bell-ringing. She sees Lucia as a problem child and predicts a bad end. Lucia resents Nan’s stories about her, but also seeks her approval.

• Sisters (Ruby, Helena, Elphine): Ruby is the eldest and leader; Helena is practical; Elphine is gentle and protective. Lucia is closest to Elphine, who comforts her. After Elphine’s death, Ruby and Helena leave, and Lucia is isolated.

• Kate Unthank: Kate is Sam’s sister, and she and Lucia share a kiss ten years before the main events. They have a complicated relationship; Kate tries to help Lucia, and they reconcile at the end.

• Harry Child: Harry is the ghost of a boy who died two centuries ago. Lucia befriends him as a child, and they have a deep bond. He is both a friend and a threat, as the woods use him to enforce their power.

• Grandpa: He tells Lucia that destroying the tree at the Rose House would drive Harry away, but it would carry a cost. He dies soon after.

Key Decisions and Consequences

• Writing the new verse: As a child, Lucia writes a new verse to Harry’s song to comfort Elphine. Nan catches her and locks her in her room. This act shows her early desire to change the story, but it also marks her as a troublemaker.

• Crossing the Fane: She crosses the forbidden river and meets Harry. This establishes their friendship but also ties her to the woods’ power.

• Hammering copper coins into the tree: After Elphine’s death, she and her sisters try to poison the rose tree with copper coins. The attempt fails; the roses spread, and Harry grows stronger. This decision leads to the present crisis.

• Offering to stay with Harry: To save Kate and the village, Lucia promises to stay with Harry forever. She rings the bells to draw him away from Kate. This is a self-sacrificing act, but it is not the end.

• Telling a story to the woods: At the amphitheater, Lucia and her sisters tell a new story to the woods, offering memories and hopes. This act of retelling allows them to find a way out and saves Lucia.

Thematic and Symbolic Connections

Lucia’s story embodies the novel’s central themes. Her attempt to rewrite Harry’s song as a child connects to storytelling as a living force. The woods are sentient, and they respond to the stories told to them. Lucia’s guilt over Elphine’s death and her desire to atone reflect the burden of memory and the past. Her final act of sacrifice and the redemptive power of retelling align with sacrifice and redemption through retelling. The Gonne family’s secret and the village’s complicity in keeping the woods’ danger hidden tie to secrecy, community, complicity, and shared truth.

Five Questions and Answers

1. Why does Lucia write a new verse to Harry’s song?

She writes it to comfort her sister Elphine, who is upset. Nan catches her and locks her in her room, marking the beginning of her rebellious relationship with the woods.

1. What happens after Elphine’s death?

Lucia and her sisters hammer copper coins into the rose tree to try to destroy it, but the attempt fails. Nan turns Lucia out, and Ruby and Helena leave. Lucia lives alone, drinking and avoiding the woods.

1. What does Lucia do to save Kate during the wedding?

She rings the bells of Small Angels to draw Harry away from Kate and Chloe. She then offers to stay with Harry forever, leading him to the Leap.

1. How is Lucia saved from her sacrifice?

Kate, Ruby, and Helena tell a new story to the woods at the amphitheater, offering memories and hopes. This act of retelling changes the narrative and allows Lucia to escape.

1. What is the significance of Lucia’s final reconciliation with Kate?

After the events, Kate visits Blanch Farm repeatedly, and they reconcile and kiss. This suggests that Lucia’s story has been rewritten from one of guilt and isolation to one of connection and hope.