50 pages • 1 hour read
Alaina UrquhartThe Butcher and the Wren
Alaina UrquhartFiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022A 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
Going Beyond the Call of Duty
Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses graphic violence and potentially disturbing themes related to a serial killer and his crimes.
The role of the forensic pathologist is thoroughly explored through both Wren and Jeremy’s perspectives. Wren’s view of her job as a forensic pathologist is unique: she sees herself as an advocate for the dead. Regardless of what is happening in her life, she views herself as responsible for carrying and relaying the stories of the bodies that end up on her table. Even after her discovery of the bracelet and its catastrophic implications, she still views Emma’s autopsy as “Emma’s time to speak, not Wren’s time to grieve” (164). She separates her emotions from her work, though she keeps her empathy in her back pocket. Empathy is crucial to her understanding of her role. She must have empathy for the victims and their experiences, but also for their loved ones who need answers. Wren’s empathy weighs heavily on her, but it also allows her to listen more closely to the people on her table—the people who are ready to speak to her. Urquhart hence conveys that the forensic pathologist’s job reaches beyond the scientific and can do spiritual and emotional good, too.
On the other hand, Jeremy, who lacks a shred of empathy, regards forensic pathologists as scientists in a lab who can understand how a death occurred, but he finds their methods and understanding limited. In his perspective, the narrator states, “[d]eath and pain cannot be explained in an autopsy report, not really. It’s primal and cannot be taught in a classroom or lab” (52). He believes himself superior to medical examiners and forensic pathologists. The novel’s antagonist therefore shows limited understanding of the power and capabilities of those who go beyond the call of their duties.
As Wren is sucked further into Jeremy’s game, she starts to edge out of the bounds of her job title and description. She pushes from the realm of pathology into the realm of investigation. Richard reminds her that it’s the “detective’s job” to find the killer, not Wren’s (50). Urquhart includes Richard’s character to explore the drawbacks and personal sacrifices involved in going beyond the call of duty. Yet, despite this reminder, Wren still views finding Jeremy as her job, both because of her responsibility for her victims and her own personal experience. This prompts her to involve herself more deeply in the investigation. She puts herself in the heart of the action with the belief that it is her moral responsibility to do so.
The Dangers of a Controlling Nature
Jeremy’s controlling nature is clear from the first chapter; his free indirect speech provides insight into his complete and total lack of empathy for his victims and his desire to control them. He describes the torture he has already subjected Matt and Katie to as “poking and prodding” despite the fact that what he did to Matt was violent enough to cause him to faint from “shock” (5-7). He looks down on his victims, considering Katie and Matt “generic” and Tara “boorish” and “repugnant” (6, 174). He thinks himself smarter than the police that pursue him, but he also thinks himself smarter than other serial killers. By constructing this character, Urquhart makes an extreme case for the dangers of letting a controlling nature go unchecked.
Jeremy displays controlling tendencies regarding his planning of both the kidnapping of Wren/Emily and the hints he uses to lure Wren/Emily back to him years later. Wren notes that his crime scenes are “the product of careful research, planning, and complex abstract thought” (60), from where and how the bodies are positioned and the clues that refer to Wren (the book, the business card, The Bracelet). Wren thinks that his use of clues is “a move used by only the most pathetic big-name killers, obsessively narcissistic little demons who demand a standing ovation” (36). While Jeremy has high self-regard due to the intricacies of his plan, Wren views him as “pathetic” for his need for validation from the authorities. Using the protagonist’s views, Urquhart undermines Jeremy’s desire to control.
Jeremy’s controlling nature is mirrored in Wren. She identifies her own obsessive tendencies as “her neurotic need to finish what she starts” (33). She cannot leave tasks unfinished, which motivates her to think over the details of the autopsies and the clues left behind by Jeremy repetitively. She fixates on the name Philip Trudeau, struggling to decide if “she should listen to this nagging sense of dread or if she should trust that Leroux and the other detectives did their due diligence in ruling out the man in Massachusetts” (47-48). Though it later is clarified that Wren’s heard the name before, and Jeremy is toying with her memory through this red herring, her inability to put it out of her mind demonstrates how she mirrors (less harmfully) Jeremy’s controlling tendencies and yet works to check them and free herself from these desires.
The Pursuit of Justice
The pursuit of justice drives Wren’s actions throughout the narrative. Even before she knows that the killer is her own attacker from years ago, she feels a heavy responsibility for finding justice for his victims. At the scene of the first victim, she asks the body, “[w]ho is missing you tonight?” (18). This is the first demonstration of the depth of Wren’s empathy, which is a strong motivator behind her passionate hunt for justice. Her empathy is further demonstrated by her close connection to the Jane Does whom she autopsies: “Nothing is worse than being forgotten. She has made it her mission to never let her Does remain that way for long” (33). The word “mission” is militaristic and connects her work to a larger fight for justice.
A key part of Wren’s desire to see justice served is her backstory with Jeremy. When she convinces John to let her join him at the raid on Jeremy’s house, she says, “I have to see him taken away in handcuffs, or I’ll never sleep again” (220). She cannot rest with the knowledge that Jeremy is still out here and could hurt her or another person again. This sense of justice is reinforced by John, who also feels a personal desire to see justice through to protect citizens.
Despite her desire for justice, Wren still cannot take justice into her own hands when presented with the opportunity to do so. She cannot pull the trigger, because at the end of the day, Wren wants justice, not revenge. Though she feels “same urgency and the same rage” as she did seven years ago, she “hesitates” with the gun in her hand (236). She is not a killer like Jeremy, but a crucial piece of the law enforcement process that seeks to punish Jeremy for his crimes within official channels.
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