The novel A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power follows an Indigenous family across three generations: Sissy (1960s), Lillian (1930s), and Cora (1900s). It is the story of three women over many generations who, as children, rely on the support of their dolls as they grapple with a childhood deeply impacted by colonization. In a time when the buried remains of Indigenous children are being found near buildings which served as Indian boarding schools, Power’s novel is a timely look into the reality and impact of these schools, racism, and colonization.
Power takes readers back in time to face the intergenerational trauma caused by abusive boarding schools and forced assimilation and separation. The novel being from the perspective of children dealing with the violence and evil of colonization creates a unique tone. Children are not oblivious; these children are aware of the racism and violence they are experiencing but try to cope, although they have little control of their situation. The novel is divided into four sections and opens with Sissy, a young girl who struggles with racist experiences and her complicated relationship with her mother. The other girls the novel focuses on, Lillian and Cora, are sent to Indian boarding schools. All three girls look toward their dolls for comfort and protection. There is a mix of naivety and fear, hope and dread. Power shows the impact and trauma of colonization in a personal and deeply impactful way.
The embedded narratives allow the reader to draw connections across generations. The most important link is that each girl has a doll which provides her with protection and comfort. When Lillian is sent home from school for Christmas, she is gifted a doll. “I hear the doll’s voice in my head, but it’s quiet beneath my roar of nerves. She says my name, the one no one else utters though it lives on my birth certificate” (Power 109). Each girl looks to their doll in moments of distress. The dolls, unknown to the reader if they have a spirit or if their voices come from the girls’ minds, offer support to incredibly vulnerable characters during their respective struggles.
Each story taking place in a different generation allows for the reader to see how the parents’ childhoods impact how they raise their children while struggling with their own trauma. The reader gains empathy for parents who make poor choices in adulthood due to the author’s
careful choice to share the stories in reverse chronological order. Lillian’s consuming anger comes from a suffering caused by these boarding schools. Their mistakes are not excused, but rather their choices, struggles, and pain are explained. Power tells a story of a long history of pain, offering knowledge which fills gaps in history for those who would like to fill them.
