The Light Pirate

Wanda Lowe is the novel’s curious, resilient, and isolated protagonist. Like her mother, Frida, Wanda has dark, curly hair and “gold-brown eyes” (107). Her great curiosity about the world and other people drives the plot forward. When she is only 10 years old, her solitary summer days and active mind “forc[e] [her] to be either bored or bad” (115). She gives in to her curiosity and breaks her father’s rules by visiting the Edge, the dangerous area of Rudder adjoining the hungry sea. At the Edge, Wanda’s magical affinity with the bioluminescent microorganisms manifests for the first time. In Part 2, Wanda’s curiosity makes her an excellent and enthusiastic student of nature under Phyllis’s tutelage, and the same trait motivates her to understand Bird Dog in Part 3. Wanda’s environment demands tremendous resilience from her. One of the most difficult ways in which the protagonist must adapt is by killing Corey and his father to defend herself and Phyllis in Chapter 57. Despite her inner turmoil, her actions are precise; her shots are “sharp and even, one after another” (298). For much of her life, Wanda is isolated. She’s ostracized and bullied as a child.