Crow Lake

Kate is the hero of Crow Lake, the second-youngest member of the Morrison family. Much of the novel takes place when Kate is seven, soon after her parents died in an accident with a logging truck. In this period, Kate is quiet, withdrawn, and deeply attached to her brother Matt. Like her siblings, Kate is fair-haired and emotionally restrained, although in instances of panic she will sometimes cry. She is comforted by Matt, who introduces her to pond life and teaches her to love the natural world. As Kate grows up, she becomes less withdrawn. She works for Miss Vernon as a teenager, saving money for university. Miss Vernon tells her that she looks “angry all the time” and that she needs to forgive whoever it is that makes her so angry (111).

Kate grows up idealizing Matt’s intelligence, and as a result, she strongly integrates the idea that pursuing education is what makes life worth living. She is the first Morrison child to attend university, where she studies zoology and rises to the top of her class. Kate loves her work as a zoology professor, but she cannot accept that school stopped being Matt’s top priority. She feels ashamed that she is an academic and he is not, and she is angry at him for giving up his chance.