46 pages • 1 hour read
Valarie KaurSee No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Little Critic
Kaur names one of her internal voices the Little Critic. This is the voice that criticizes her and tells her all the things she cannot do. She notes that Little Critic’s voice was louder when she was dating Ram because he was overly critical of her. It was also louder during the Trump era. This emphasizes that poor self-esteem is often the product of one’s environment; Little Critic’s voice is a mosaic of real-life negativity. Visually, Kaur describes Little Critic as a “ragged bird who liked to sit on the throne of my mind” (279). The bird’s ragged appearance relates directly to how this voice makes her feel. She notices that when her Wise Woman voice is present, Little Critic is quiet; this helps her realize that Little Critic is afraid for her. This negative self-perception is a defense mechanism. She writes, “All this time, the Little Critic was trying to keep me small, because it was the only way to survive. He was trying to protect me” (290). In her healing journey, she imagines thanking him for his services and releasing him, allowing Wise Woman to take control instead.
Wise Woman
Like Little Critic, Wise Woman is a voice Kaur finds inside herself. Kaur believes she met the embodiment of Wise Woman while giving birth to Kavi when she saw an image of her own face above her, encouraging her during birth. After a lifetime of growing, she begins to listen to this Wise Woman within her. She does so by recording messages from her in a journal. She notices that Wise Woman’s voice is quieter than Little Critic’s, highlighting the way self-confidence can be calm and collected rather than self-aggrandizing. She visualizes Wise Woman as an image of herself standing in front of a throne, a juxtaposition to Little Critic’s ragged appearance. In her mind’s eye, she marries Wise Woman, dedicates herself to her faithfully, and pictures Wise Woman taking a seat on her throne. This symbolizes Kaur’s full understanding and love for herself by the end of the book, a future she wants for others and the US as a whole.
Little Joy
Kaur finds out she is pregnant after her friend Joyce dies, and she immediately nicknames her unborn child Little Joy. Little Joy symbolizes the circle of life in her appearance after death, but she also represents hope more broadly. Kaur notes elsewhere in the text that progress is not linear, and Little Joy symbolizes positive changes that can come after a crisis. Little Joy also represents Kaur’s return to joy and a reimagined future. During this pregnancy, she reaches the understanding that no matter what the political sphere or cultural atmosphere looks like, there is still hope. She understands that the transition to a new America can be long and arduous, but she believes it is waiting for us all. Little Joy’s symbolism crystallizes when Kaur gives birth and names her child Ananda, which means joy.
