The God of the Woods

“A whole summer, thought Alice. A whole summer without Barbara, her rages, her storms, the hours she spent weeping aloud, disturbing the staff. All of them pretending politely not to hear. But they did, every one of them, and Alice did too. How pleasant it would be to have these months all to herself, while just down the hill her daughter was removed, but safe.”

Alice immediately portrays her daughter as an antagonist, perpetuating the false narrative that Barbara is inherently a problem for everyone around her. By the end of the novel, however, Barbara will become a much more sympathetic character as Alice’s mental health crises and ongoing depression—fueled by the loss of her son—are revealed to play a role in her disdain for her daughter.

“Any other camper who arrived in Barbara’s clothing would have been immediately shuttled to the bottom of the social heap, met with incredulity or ignored entirely. But Barbara Van Laar was too interesting to ignore, her personal history to intriguing and complex. Though no one said it aloud, the goal of every camper on the ground was to befriend her.”

While Barbara is mistreated at home, the attitude of others at Camp Emerson proves to be a far better indicator of her personality. Her wealth and family connections initially bring her an unearned status, but she soon proves her worth as a genuine person when she chooses to befriend Tracy, the most reserved of the campers.

“By the end of the hour, all of them understood the basics of navigation with a compass, or with the sun. If both of those techniques failed, concluded TJ, the most important thing was not to panic. For a bonus she asked them: Who knew the origins of the word.

‘Which word?” someone said.

‘Panic,’ said TJ. But no one raised a hand. She explained. It came from the Greek god Pan: the god of the woods. He liked to trick people, to confuse and disorient them until they lost their bearings, and their minds. To panic, said TJ, was to make an enemy of the forest. To stay calm was to be its friend.”

This passage reveals the significance of the novel’s title, for TJ emphasizes that mastery of the woods requires working with whatever the woods have to offer. Her teaching is invaluable to Barbara who, unlike the other campers, will be placed in a situation in which her true survival depends on such skills.