A History Of Wild Places

Travis Wren has a supersensory ability to see other people’s memories in the objects they’ve touched or places they’ve been. At the beginning of the novel, he lives an isolated life and mourns the death of his sister, Ruth. He is haunted by finding his sister minutes after she died by suicide and hopes that finding Maggie can be a form of redemption, believing “it will set something right” (23). Because of his ability, he can locate missing persons and is periodically hired by families as a last resort. His self-worth is low, and he describes himself as “not good or decent. I was destruction and missed chances and moments I couldn’t take back” (18).

After the narrative shifts two years later to Pastoral, Theo is portrayed as devoted to his wife but fascinated with the outside world. As the newest arrival in Pastoral, he is also the most daring about going beyond its boundaries. This suggests the sense of subconscious skepticism he still feels. In terms of his character trajectory, most of his progress is implicit and revealed after he and Calla leave Pastoral. When he remembers Ruth, he finds that he can think of her life rather than just her death.