The Light Pirate

The once adventurous, regretful, and lonely Frida Lowe is the protagonist’s mother and one of the novel’s main characters. Frida grows up sailing from island to island with her mother, Joy. Looking back on her younger self, Frida thinks that “she used to be brave. She had to be” (14). Frida loses both Joy and her sense of self in a hurricane that devastates Puerto Rico. When Kirby sees his future wife for the first time, she is standing among the wreckage of Hurricane Poppy: “[H]e looked down and took in her stained dress, her tangled hair, her burning gaze pointed right at him” (50). Later, Frida questions how the circumstances in which they met may have impacted their relationship: “Kirby’s happiest when he’s fixing things. Sometimes she worries that this is the reason he married her” (17). The hurricane changes Frida significantly, and she becomes plagued by anxieties, loneliness, and regrets. After she marries Kirby, Frida becomes isolated from her friends in Houston and from the ambitious architecture student she once was. She feels that her husband and her stepsons neither understand nor appreciate her. Her fears and loneliness mount as Hurricane Wanda approaches until she feels as though “[t]he anxiety has become part of her” (12). In Chapter 10, she describes herself as “diminished. Dim. Losing light like nighttime coming on fast” (49). After an adventurous childhood, Frida becomes an anxious, regretful, and lonely woman.

As the protagonist’s mother, Frida sacrifices her life to bring Wanda into the world, and her actions shape the person her daughter becomes. It’s implied that the storm is able to grant the newborn Wanda some of its power because Frida leaves the door open: “She watches the storm rage through the doorway, still open, and knows that she should seize the next moment of relief to separate herself from this violence. But she can’t just now” (92). Frida also makes the controversial choice to name Wanda after the hurricane. As a result, the protagonist faces ostracization from the townspeople of Rudder, Florida, and she develops a closeness to nature that she may not have had if she had been more accepted by society. In addition, the dynamic character of Frida contributes to the themes of family and nature. The anxiety she feels as the hurricane approaches in Part 1 emphasizes the terrible violence of nature to the reader. The hurricane’s wrath inspires a greater love for her family: “She realizes now that she has not appreciated this family as she should have, spending this whole summer not wanting the boys, not wanting Kirby, not wanting the baby even” (60). Although Frida is only alive in Part 1, she gives the novel its protagonist and makes lasting contributions to the plot and themes.

Kirby Lowe is the protagonist’s self-assured, hardworking, and emotionally unavailable father. The first time that Frida sees her future husband, he is hard at work repairing the damage of Hurricane Poppy, and she takes in “his heavy work boots, saw the solidity of his broad frame, saw his sweating, sun-beaten face beneath the brim of his hard hat” (49). She is initially drawn to his confidence and solidity, but his self-assurance drives a wedge between the couple when he fails to acknowledge her fears as Hurricane Wanda approaches: “When they fought earlier, he took her frantic appeals to evacuate as an insult. ‘Why can’t you just trust me?’ he asked, bewildered” (13). Additionally, Kirby’s lack of emotional availability creates conflict between his sons and Frida because they view their stepmother as a rival for their father’s limited love and attention. Kirby is aware of this character flaw in himself, but he struggles to improve. He knows that his unavailability led to the dissolution of his marriage to Chloe, and he sees a similar pattern emerging with Frida. Still, the industrious man prefers concrete action to intangible emotion any day and evades much-needed conversations with his loved ones. His last words to his wife before she gives birth to their daughter are clipped and harsh because he feels that he must prioritize the search for Lucas and Flip over “something so inconsequential as a feeling—Frida’s or his own” (59). Although the loss of Frida and Flip shatters Kirby’s self-assurance, he continues to work hard and struggle with his emotions in Part 2.

As the protagonist’s father, Kirby makes choices that shape the novel’s plot. In particular, his decision to ask Phyllis to watch the 10-year-old Wanda changes the course of both Phyllis’s and Wanda’s lives. Kirby also advances the themes of survival and nature because he and his fellow linemen rescue Rudder “from the brink of chaos, again and again and again” (136). However, he cannot protect the town from the coming crisis forever, and the flood that kills him at the end of Part 2 is a direct consequence of climate change. Kirby’s death emphasizes the violence of nature and impacts Wanda’s relationship with the lights: “The waves slam against the doors and sweep over the hood, the windshield, the windows, swallowing the truck whole. Wanda calls out, but there is no answer except for the murmur she used to think was trying to help her” (219). Although Kirby doesn’t live to see his daughter grow up, she becomes a woman who shares his work ethic and commitment to fixing what is broken.

The penitent, hopeful, and selfless Lucas Lowe is the protagonist’s older brother and another of the novel’s main characters. Lucas is only 12 when the novel begins, but the unkind way he treats his ill-fated brother and stepmother haunts him for many years. He torments Frida and bullies Flip because he urgently needs his father’s love and feels powerless. Lucas is the one who insists that the boys play in the abandoned trailer park, a fateful decision that leads to Flip being carried away by the hurricane and Frida giving birth all alone. The Lucas the reader encounters in Part 2 is someone shaken to his core by remorse: “He’s spent ten years trying to atone. He desperately wants to be the kind of big brother that Flip should have had” (161). In addition to making amends for his unkindness as a child, another of Lucas’s goals is to protect his home town. The hopeful, principled young man dreams of attending college but fears that other people will misunderstand his intentions: “It isn’t that he wants to leave Rudder behind. It’s that he wants to learn how to save it” (134). Even after climate change leads to the shutdown of Florida and the closure of his college, Lucas holds on to hope and selflessly places his skills and knowledge at the service of others. Repentance motivates Lucas to become an altruistic man who dreams that a better future is possible and works to make this hope a reality.

Lucas is one of the novel’s most dynamic characters, and he develops the themes of survival and family. He is a reckless bully in Part 1, “a quiet, careful man” in Part 2 (107), and a courageous combatant against climate change in Part 3. He gradually learns to let go of his guilt toward Frida and Flip while retaining the kindness and principles that his remorse instilled in him. Throughout the novel, Lucas’s appearance transforms as well, both weathered and strengthened by the trials he’s faced. In Chapter 53, even Wanda needs a moment to recognize the enormous “man with broad shoulders and a filthy, scruffy beard” as her brother (263). Lucas advances the theme of survival and adaptation because he dreams of protecting Rudder and finds a new way to apply his skills when this goal becomes impossible: “It’s not like I wanted it to be, it’s not like I got my degree and a big job, but I got a chance to make a little difference” (269). In Part 3, he contributes to the theme of finding family and community. Knowing that Wanda is as safe and happy as she can possibly be with Phyllis, Lucas makes the painful but necessary decision to return to his own found family: “I got a crew now, Phyllis. We look out for each other. And we—well, we can’t fix it, but we can make it last a little longer, you know?” (269). Throughout his life, Lucas adapts to difficulties and strives to help his family and community survive.

Phyllis Donner is a resourceful survivalist, a patient teacher, and a cautious and nurturing guardian. In Chapter 21, she is described as “an older woman with a kind face” (83). Although she is already at an advanced age, Phyllis is in the midst of readying herself for a new life when the novel begins. She prepares for the inevitable while many are still denying the reality of climate change: “The generators, the garden beds, the fruit trees, the ground well, the weapons and the skills to use them—all of it. This is her future” (88). Phyllis begins sharing her survival skills and her knowledge of nature with Wanda when the protagonist is 10 years old. The retired biology teacher offers the girl the patience and understanding she is sorely lacking from her educators and peers at school. After Kirby’s death, Phyllis becomes Wanda’s guardian. She loves and looks after Wanda as her own family, and she passes on her fear of other people out of a desire to protect Wanda. As a result, Wanda isolates herself for years after Phyllis’s death and struggles to trust Bird Dog. The resourceful, patient, and cautious Phyllis teaches Wanda many vital skills and a few damaging beliefs.

As the protagonist’s guardian and teacher, Phyllis develops the novel’s themes and deepens the story’s emotional impact. She contributes to the theme of survival and adaptation because of her survival expertise and how she passes those skills on to Wanda. Additionally, she plays an important role in the theme of nature because she helps Wanda understand her environment and appreciate the beauty amid the violence. For instance, she shows Wanda a meteor shower the year after a flood kills Kirby: “Phyllis would wake her in the middle of the night, carrying blankets to lie on and a thermos of honeyed tea to sip from. They’d go to the roof and look up and Wanda would feel slightly better” (227). Third, Phyllis develops the theme of finding family and community because of how close she and Wanda become. Much of the novel's emotional depth comes from their relationship, which is one of the most important dynamics in Parts 2 and 3. One particularly poignant moment occurs in Chapter 59 immediately before Phyllis’s memory of Wanda fades: “She remembered all of it in an instant, and she felt it, too: the intensity of her love, the ferocity of her protection, a sense of wonder as she watched a little girl grow” (330). Phyllis’s love for nature and Wanda develop the novel’s themes and impact.