The Stillwater Girls

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of mental illness, child death, and child abuse.

The doll that Sage holds to soothe herself as she and Wren slowly starve in the isolated cabin is a symbol of Sage’s arrested development and The Psychological Impact of Extreme Isolation. Kent emphasizes Sage’s childlike quality through the maternal protectiveness Wren adopts toward her younger sister as a result. Even though the two are separated by just a year, Wren feels responsible for comforting Sage and guiding her behavior because Sage is still innocent and naive in many ways. The text shows the two reacting very differently to the unusual conditions in which they are raised: while Wren takes on adult responsibilities, taking care of many of the chores required to survive on the homestead, Sage retreats into a childlike state. She uses her charm to get out of work, and even when work is expected of her, she often neglects it. Like a child, she is reluctant to face reality: she talks about making candy when the two are on the verge of starvation, and she clings to her beliefs about Maggie long after Wren has faced the truth of who Maggie really was.