Klara and the Sun

Part 5 of Klara and the Sun can be characterized as the novel’s falling action: Josie’s health continues to decline, and Klara and Chrissy deal with the aftermath of their day in the city. The section ends with Josie waking up feeling better, the first day of her recovery. Most of Part 5 deals with Klara’s return to Mr. McBain’s barn, in which she prays again to the sun, asking it to heal Josie. As in religious prayer, Klara appeals to innocence and love while acknowledging her insignificance: “I know I’ve no right to come here like this” (268). Klara says “the sun was watching at the yard that day” (269), and she often wonders why the sun hasn’t yet helped Josie, given the way it helps her and healed the beggar and his dog. Klara’s conception of the sun, therefore, mirrors the Christian conception of God as omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.

In the barn, Klara has flashbacks and memories of past experiences which shape her prayer. As she thinks of the bull and of the emotional pain she witnessed within Chrissy and strangers in the city, she momentarily doubts the sun. Given that the evil bull was allowed above the ground, Klara wonders if the sun is capable of error. She appeals to the love between Rick and Josie because she remembers the sun coming out after the reunion of Coffee Cup Lady and Raincoat Man. To Klara, logic dictates that the sun must approve of love if it “approved” that particular scene. Remembering Vance’s reproach of “favoritism,” she tries to avoid sounding selfish. Thus, Klara’s appeal to the sun parallels Helen’s appeal to Vance, in that they are both willing to go through anything to help their loved one. Klara’s thought processes all follow a clear logic, despite their surface absurdity. They can be understood as symbols of the convoluted and insufficient means by which a sentient individual perceives the world and make decisions.

Chrissy’s bitter and unfair question about whether Rick feels like a winner is an expression of her immense guilt. Instead of lashing out, Rick responds with the loving message passed to him by Josie. Like Klara, Rick understands that Chrissy’s cruel words are products of her pain. Ironically, Rick, the unlifted child, acts in this scene with more maturity and grace than any other character.