60 pages • 2 hours read
The Keeper of Stars
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Symbols & Motifs
Stars
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.
The title The Keeper of Stars signals the importance of stars in the novel from the very beginning. Stars are a common symbol of destiny in Western literature, and their use in Turner’s novel is in keeping with this tradition. Characters frequently use phrases like “in the stars” to describe the idea of fate or destiny and discuss whether people have the capacity to override the outcomes they seem destined for (12). This links the novel’s star symbolism to its thematic consideration of The Power of Individuals to Determine Their Own Destinies.
When Jack uses the phrase “my keeper of stars” as an epithet for Ellie in his book’s dedication (124), he is referring both to her literal occupation as an astronomer and to her role in his destiny. In the summer of 1950, Ellie and Jack often spend time stargazing. Ellie teaches Jack scientific information about stars, and the two also use them as a symbolic way to discuss their ideas about destiny and free will. In 1962, when Jack sends Ellie the book, he is exercising his own free will to try to influence the outcome of his relationship with Ellie—but in calling her his “keeper of stars,” he also acknowledges Ellie’s power over him as a kind of “keeper” of his destiny (124).
The House on the Hill
Clara’s home in Sims Chapel, the house on the hill, is a significant location to the novel’s plot and characterizations and becomes a symbol of how people’s choices can influence their fates. Clara’s house is where Ellie stays in Sims Chapel during the summer of 1950, making it integral to her destiny of meeting Jack. It is one of the highest-status homes in Sims Chapel, characterizing Ellie as coming from a higher-status background than Jack. Even before he meets Ellie, Clara’s house is the focus of Jack’s aspirations; for years, his dream has been to work hard enough to buy this house—or one very much like it—and provide an easier life for himself and his mother. This characterizes Jack as ambitious, determined, and responsible. Jack often talks about the house as his destiny, and when people point out that this supposed destiny seems unlikely, he asserts that his own choices have the power to create this destiny. In 1962, when Clara dies, Jack has in fact built a successful business and become an author—but the house he has managed to buy for himself is not quite as grand as Clara’s. However, Clara leaves Jack her house in her will—a piece of “luck” made more likely by the fact that Clara was always so impressed by Jack’s hard work and his character. Like the outcome of Jack’s relationship with Ellie, it is a combination of Jack’s determined choices and forces beyond his control that finally secure the house on the hill for Jack. This makes the house a significant part of the novel’s arguments about The Power of Individuals to Determine Their Own Destinies.
Mockingbirds
When Jack and Ellie are on one of their first boat rides together, Jack points out some mockingbirds to Ellie and tells her that they mate for life and that “[e]ven when they’re apart for seasons at a time, they always find their way back to each other” (54). This is not strictly accurate. Mockingbird pairs separate after the mating season, living alone for most of each year; although some return to a previous partner during subsequent mating seasons, many establish a new partnership with each new mating season.
Within the world of The Keeper of Stars, however, mockingbirds become a symbol of Jack and Ellie’s bond and the promises they make to one another that, no matter what might temporarily separate them, they will eventually be together. This symbolism supports the novel’s portrayal of true love as immutable and something that each person can have with only one other person. It also foreshadows Jack and Ellie’s eventual “happily ever after” and supports the novel’s thematic claims. Like the mockingbirds “apart for seasons at a time,” The Impact of Individual Ambitions on Romantic Partnerships separates Ellie and Jack—but like the mockingbirds that “always find their way back to each other” (54), Ellie and Jack eventually consider Taking a Risk on a Second Chance at Love.
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