44 pages • 1 hour read
Marguerite HenryMisty of Chincoteague
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1947A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Family and Community Bonds
The importance of family connection in both the horse and human world is a major theme throughout Misty of Chincoteague. It is visible in the opening chapters, when the first horses to arrive on Assateague survive by looking out for one another while the crew of the ship drown because all they can think about is money. The theme is explicitly introduced in Chapter 3, when Paul tells Maureen not to be sad about the Pied Piper coaxing the Phantom back into the herd because, just like people, horses are better when they are together.
The Beebe family and the Pied Piper’s family are the two major family units present in the book, and both are tightly bonded groups that care deeply for one another. Although the Beebe children’s background is never fully explained, they are raised in a nontraditional family, living with their grandparents while their parents are in China. Grandpa and Grandma Beebe love Paul and Maureen as their own and are proud of their ability to work independently to raise money to buy the Phantom. Although they are both gruff in demeanor, Grandpa and Grandma consistently support their grandchildren as well as each other. Paul and Maureen are another tightly bonded duo. The only tension between them comes when they can’t decide who will race the Phantom. Rather than resenting or growing angry with each other, though, they are simply sad that they can’t both ride her. When Paul wins the bigger half of the wishbone, he immediately feels bad for his little sister, who is clearly disappointed.
The Pied Piper and Phantom’s family reflect the Beebe family in horse form. The horses’ wildness reflects the independence of the Beebe children and contributes to the instant bond that they feel with the Phantom the first day they see her on Assateague. Although the Pied Piper is depicted as somewhat frightening, especially to humans, he is a committed patriarch who watches out for the Phantom and the other mares. The Phantom’s actions as a mother reveal a gentler style of horse bond. She temporarily sacrifices her treasured wildness to help her baby and allow Misty to become the human-bonded horse that she seems destined to be. As Misty grows up, the Phantom’s wildness slowly returns. Eventually, the cycle is completed when she reunites with the Pied Piper. Although her daughter is now on her own, the Phantom is excited to return to her large horse family on Assateague.
The Natural World Versus the Human-Made World
By the time the main narrative begins, Chincoteague is a developed community that contrasts with the still wild Assateague, although only a narrow channel separates them. While Chincoteague is a typical small American town, with bustling streets and vibrant community life, Assateague is a mysterious place where horses appear suddenly out of the mist and the ghost of the wrecked Spanish galleon can still be felt. Marguerite Henry uses vivid descriptive language and metaphor to amplify the contrast between the wild natural world of Assateague and the human-built environment of Chincoteague. In their natural environment, the Assateague ponies, especially the Phantom, are often described as one with the elements—innately connected with the sea, wind, and mist. When they arrive on human-dominated Chincoteague, the ponies are like any domestic horse, timidly following their human leaders wherever they want them to go.
The novel’s horses thus demonstrate a responsiveness to environment that in and of itself links them closely with the natural world. In the opening chapters, the horses from the Spanish galleon slowly transform from domestic creatures into wild animals as they adapt to life on Assateague. They learn what to eat, how to avoid flies, how to escape from the mud, and how to live through the long, cold, icy winters. Their coats go from smooth and well-groomed to shaggy and long, reflecting their transformation into wild creatures. Slowly, Assateague stops being a harsh foreign land where they are trapped and becomes their natural home.
Humans by and large lack this flexibility; various groups try to settle on Assateague but never succeed. Children are a partial exception to this rule; they have not yet fully absorbed human society’s conventions and rules, as Paul and Maureen’s incomprehension in the face of seemingly losing the Phantom to another buyer demonstrates. The siblings’ own “wildness” makes them acutely aware of the differences between Assateague and Chincoteague, and they do their best to ensure that the Phantom has some of her natural home waiting for her when she arrives at the stall on their ranch. They fill the manger with grasses from the marsh and make a wickie halter out of a root that they think will be more comfortable than a standard leather or rope bridle. However, their belief that the Phantom—the main symbol of the contrast between the human and animal worlds—can truly settle into life among humans illustrates the siblings’ own limited perspective. Although she allows herself to be captured, she is never truly tamed. Accepting that her place is on Assateague while their own is on Chincoteague is part of Paul and Maureen’s coming-of-age process.
The Relationship Between Humans and Horses
Human–horse interactions form the majority of Misty of Chincoteague’s plot. Although many of the horse characters are wild ponies, the bond between the two species is evident throughout the book. With the exception of the Phantom, most of the wild ponies are willing to be rounded up and led by people, even if they try to escape at first. It seems that somewhere deep in their subconscious, they know that they are descended from domestic animals and that most humans mean them no harm.
Henry highlights the close relationship between her human characters and her horse characters by using anthropomorphic language to describe the horses and using horse-centered metaphors to characterize people. Each major horse has a distinct personality with specific thoughts, feelings, and motivations. The Black Comet and his rider both feel proud to enter the race, for example, as they are both acutely aware that they are the champions. In addition to the narrator, Paul and Maureen act as “interpreters” of horse language; the siblings often believe they know exactly what the Phantom, Misty, and Pied Piper are trying to say and speak back to them assuming that they fully understand.
Nevertheless, a tension exists in the human–horse bond. When Maureen and Paul first see the Phantom, they are instantly attracted to her unique wildness. To them, she is pure horse, with no desire to please people or live penned on a farm. Ironically, the greater tractability of the other Assateague ponies renders them less appealing to the siblings, suggesting a mismatch in what humans admire in a horse and what makes a horse a good human companion. Henry explores this further in Maureen and Paul’s shifting relationship to the Phantom’s colt. As Misty grows up, it becomes clear that she, unlike her parents, is fully domesticated. She has no sense of wildness and always wants to be as close to people as possible. When she and the Phantom first come to the Beebe home, she tries to teach her mother how to get along with people, and observing the gentle way that Paul and Maureen treat Misty is what convinces the Phantom to let the siblings approach her as well. The end of the novel confirms Misty’s fully domestic character: After her mother returns to Assateague, Misty lets out a happy whinny, and Paul believes that she is announcing her name to be Misty of Chincoteague. This marks her as part of the human world and entirely distinct from her wild relatives. In turn, Paul and Maureen learn to appreciate the advantages of a domesticated animal.
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By Marguerite Henry
