Erdrich forces the reader to peer into the breach that separates two ways of viewing the world and human experience. Rather than showing readers a civilization in decline, Erdrich offers a vision of a culture that continues to evolve. Even as she posits that the old gender-based rituals of hunter and warrior are no longer fulfilling, she draws upon the rich tradition of folklore and vision to offer characters a promising context for growth. When characters call uon tradition to guide their lives, they reconcile the distant and recent past with the present. Erdrich places great value in experience with emphasis on rituals and roles that are not gender-based.
Characters trapped in or between gender-based roles are unfulfilled.