The Things She's Seen

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses sexual violence and racism against Indigenous Australians.

A common practice in Aboriginal cultures is for the entire community to participate in mourning the passing of a community member. This process is conducted through a collection of visits, traditions, and ceremonies that are collectively referred to as “Sorry Business.” There is a belief that coming together and sharing sadness is essential for breaking through grief and beginning to heal. These cultural beliefs are reflected in The Things She’s Seen, for the authors take this same philosophical stance toward the process of overcoming trauma. The story’s central conflict focuses on the question of whether Beth, Catching, and Sarah will find a way to move on to the “other side.” Ultimately, this feat can only be accomplished once Beth feels sure that her father is healing from his grief and once Catching and Sarah regain their own hope and strength following the trauma of sexual assault. In both situations, the way forward is found through supportive relationships.

The complex family dynamics surrounding Beth’s death illustrate the many roles that the community can play in aiding the grieving process. For example, Beth’s family members support each another, share stories about Beth, and gather together to process the sadness of losing her. The cousins benefit from the wisdom of their elder relatives when Aunty June encourages them to balance their tears for Beth with their laughter over the lighter memories of her life.

By contrast, Michael isolates himself after Beth’s death and remains mired in his sorrow. Beth has watched him collapse into himself and lose interest in his job and his life. His willful isolation puzzles Beth until he explains that he feels undeserving of the happiness of family life because he could not protect his own daughter. Hearing this, Beth understands that her father is “impossibly turned around in his own mind” (131), and she tells him that his behavior is unfair to himself and to everyone else. Thus, just has Michael’s isolation causes his misguided behavior, his act of sharing his thoughts with Beth immediately allows him see more clearly, and her support helps him to make the resolution to reunite with the family and let them help him to overcome his grief. By the end of the story, Michael is finally on the road to healing, as indicated by his new willingness to speak with Aunty Viv and attend Grandpa Jim’s birthday party.

Just as Michael’s family connections help him to process his grief, Catching and Sarah both find a way to heal themselves through their relationship with one another. Before Catching arrives in the underground bunker, Sarah is lost in her own grayness and believes several things about the situation that she will later reject as “lies” (160). Each of these beliefs—that she will never escape the bunker, that she is unable to fight the Fetchers or the Feed, and that the only choice is to become a dead girl—eventually fades away in the face of Catching’s courage and determination. Likewise, Catching relies on Sarah’s help to overcome her own trauma, for when the pain and despair threaten to overwhelm her, she asks Sarah to help her remember and recite the names of her grandmothers so that she can draw upon their strength. This act also helps her to decide that, like them, she has the power to endure and overcome. Her ritual of repeating the names gives her the strength to battle back the “grayness” that symbolizes despair. As a result, she regains the colors that symbolize hope and joy. She and Sarah eventually grow strong enough to join together in the final fight against the Fetchers and the Feed, and together, they escape their prison and put a stop to the men’s predations.