Wild Wings

Lockets are traditionally used to hold the image of a loved one. Iona’s locket appears at multiple points in the story as a symbol of Love and Loss. The locket makes its first appearance when Iona proudly shows Callum that it contains a picture of her mother. Over time, Iona realizes that her mother won’t be coming back for her. This truth emerges as the girl watches Iris preparing to migrate away from her mate and their chick. Iona connects Iris’s imminent departure to her absent mother. She expresses her sense of loss by scratching Fiona’s image out of the locket.

At Iona’s funeral, her mother shows up and unexpectedly gives the locket to Callum. Much to his surprise, Fiona’s face has been replaced with a photo of Callum. Fiona tells him, “I think this belongs to you now” (134). She transfers the object to Callum just as her daughter symbolically transferred her affection to him. As the novel ends, Callum gives the locket to Jeneba, knowing that Iona would have wanted him to complete the circle of affection. Callum, Iona, and Jeneba are bound together by their love for each other and for an osprey named Iris.