Tell the Wolves I'm Home

June’s 16-year-old sister, Greta, is described as looking older than she is. June explains that Greta was moved ahead a grade in school at a young age and therefore is always younger than her classmates. The novel emphasizes Greta’s talent as an actor and singer; June is often in awe at how effortless Greta’s performances appear. She is naturally at ease on the stage and does not need to exert much effort to excel. This seems true for everything Greta does, and the girls’ mother regards this as a source of achievement for which she is proud. Greta surrounds herself with peers, socializing in a way that June regards as another of her talents.

The dissent between the sisters, however, is one of the novel’s key conflicts. Greta is highly critical of June’s relationship with Finn as well as of Toby, who she treats as a kind of scapegoat for Finn’s illness and death. Greta is sarcastic and cruel in her interactions with June, often making belittling comments that suggest June is naïve about how the world works or that she is uncool and awkward. These insults merely reinforce how June already feels about herself. However, the novel points to a time when the sisters were young when they were close friends—Greta regarded herself as June’s caretaker and protector. June longs for that time to return, feeling as though the mean and cruel version of Greta is not truly the “real Greta.”

Greta’s outward cruelty is a mask for the inward hurt she harbors. As the novel closes, she reveals to June the pressure she feels to excel and the longing she has to merely be a child, without the stress of looking ahead to the future. She admits, finally, to being jealous of June’s connection with Finn (and later with Toby) and feeling as though she has been pushed out by June. As Greta’s need for June and her desire to reconnect become clear, June is able to see that Greta is vulnerable, rather than confident. Rather than antagonizing June and sabotaging their relationship, Greta takes steps to rekindle their connection as the novel closes.

June’s uncle’s death is the inciting incident of the novel’s plot. Because he is no longer living during the present of the novel, he is presented in flashback scenes as June recalls her interactions with him. Finn is depicted as being warm and kind, supportive of June’s passions and celebrating the unique aspects of her person that she feels other people judge her harshly for. Like June, he appears rather introverted, preferring quiet activities such as visiting the Cloisters. The news articles that address his final painting indicate that Finn is a skilled and respected artist in his field. His paintings are worth a hefty price tag, yet Finn prefers to live a simple life. Indeed, near the end of his life, Finn becomes reclusive, seeking to remain out of the spotlight and not showing any of his paintings. This desire to stay out of the limelight and to live a quiet, simple life contrasts with the picture June’s parents paint of Finn’s younger days, in which he ran off to England, largely cutting himself off from his family. It is in England, however, that Finn meets Toby, and their relationship becomes a point of stability for Finn. When he reconnects with his family, June’s mother forces him to choose between Toby and the family. Thus, Finn must keep the two parts of his life—his family (including June) and Toby—distinctly separate. However, Finn takes steps to ensure that this separation is violated after his death by requesting that June and Toby take care of one another. This is evidence of Finn’s love for both of them and a testament to the loving person that June has grown to love and admire.

June and Greta’s mother, Danielle, in many ways, embodies the traditional mother of middle-class America in the 1980s. She has a demanding career but is invested in the well-being of June and Greta. She is encouraging of Greta’s involvement in theater, firmly believing that a person should always take advantage of all opportunities that present themselves. Danielle so frequently spouts this mantra that both June and Greta come to regard it as cliché. She is protective of her daughters and, because she regards Toby as dangerous, seeks to keep them away from him. She genuinely cares for and loves her daughters and wants what is best for them.

Her inclination, however, is to avoid difficult feelings or circumstances, rather than to address them head on or work through them. After Finn’s death, June’s mother is eager for June to resolve her grief quickly instead of dwelling on memories of Finn or their past. This causes conflict with June and also suggests that her mother’s tendency to pretend problems do not exist or avoid them at all costs is her own way of coping. She pressures June to be social or become involved in school activities, just as she pressures Greta to accelerate her education; as the novel unfolds, it becomes evident that Danielle harbors regret over her past. That she once planned to pursue an art career, like Finn, but instead fell into a more traditional career is a source of dissonance for her. In this way, she urges her daughters not to make the same mistakes she did by pushing them to take advantage of opportunities, even if they’re not sure they want them.

In many ways, Danielle advances The Damaging Effects of Stigma and Misinformation: She is fearful that Greta may contract AIDS by using Finn’s lip balm, and she bars Toby from Finn’s funeral. The stigma surrounding both AIDS and people who have been incarcerated defines her reaction to Toby. Danielle’s anger at Toby, whom she has been led to believe is to blame for Finn’s contraction of AIDS and subsequent death, pervades her character. It is not until the end of the novel that she is able to let go and recognize the way she has been wrong to hold Toby responsible.