The Wind Knows My Name

Part of Samuel’s trauma is evident in his biological family’s removal from his life. As with Anita, losing his parents removed critical support necessary to function regularly, let alone in times of severe oppression and violence. Throughout the novel, family is the greatest source of strength, and situations they face without family are exponentially more challenging. These instances are sometimes innocuous, as in Nadine’s journey to London with only Samuel to initially support her, but are often intense and painful, such as Samuel’s discovery of his parents’ deaths and Anita’s imaginary conversations with Claudia. While some (like Selena and Frank) have their full families present in their lives, forming solid support systems, others (like Samuel and Anita) find the support they need to develop as individuals only by creating new families composed of friends who can fill those roles. Most importantly, the novel portrays family as the individual’s greatest defense against lasting trauma, as in Samuel and Anita’s relationship.

For Selena and Frank, elements like the last name Durán, meaning long-lasting or enduring, as well as the meatballs that Frank’s mother sends him, show the power of a strong family connection. Selena derives strength from the experiences of her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, just as Frank grounds his identity in the Brooklyn home he shared with his parents and siblings. Samuel, however, rejects Jewish culture in England because he lacks that affirming connection with his family, which leads him to struggle in forming an identity of his own. Instead, he forms a career and family, and he’s unable to adjust to Nadine’s overflowing generosity with strangers, which robs him of time to bond with her and leaves him alone for periods of their marriage and after her death. For Anita, the desire for family is strong, as she anticipates her mother’s return, much as Samuel thought his parents would return after World War II. In the end, in accepting Samuel and Leticia as her new family, Anita begins the process of resolving her trauma.

At the novel’s end, Selena and Samuel disagree on when and how to tell Anita her mother is dead. Selena thinks they should wait for Anita to adjust to her new home, noting that “a lot of love and support” (245) can help prepare her for the news. Here, Selena speaks from experience, knowing that a good family can help one recover from trauma, but Samuel, too, speaks from experience, reflecting his own isolation in the aftermath of his parents’ deaths: “This kind of trauma isn’t something you ever get over” (245). However, both characters are correct, because while a new family can’t overwrite the loss of one’s original family, the strength of a family structure can help one better process and accept loss.