Character Clues

Character Analysis

Family Life

There's no getting around the fact that the McCloy Bunch is one messed-up family, and all of them have played a role in creating Miracle's situation. Gigi's delusional and wraps herself in her fantasy world rather than face reality, Casey (at least at the beginning of the story) hides in her job and school to escape dealing with her dead sister's daughter, Dane's damaged goods after years of being forced to be a child prodigy author, and as a result, Miracle doesn't know which way is up. Jeepers. If that doesn't characterize a dysfunctional family, we don't know what does.

Probably the worst thing about the McCloy family, though, is that they have dug themselves a pit of lies and denial that's so deep that they can't separate what they've made up from what's actually happened. This is especially true for the events surrounding Sissy's death. Casey tells Dr. DeAngelis that they created the story about her death being an accident to make it "grand, glorious, a miracle" (24.105), rather than a senseless tragedy they're all to blame for.

It's only when Casey begins taking psychology courses that she comes out of the stupor her sister's death left her in and sees how badly the family needs help. "This family's got too many secrets," she tells Miracle. "We need help sorting it all out, the secrets and… and problems" (19.3). And as Casey and Miracle do just that, we see them forming a new, happier branch of the family.

Clothing

Dancing on the Edge features a bunch of really strange, dysfunctional people, and as you might expect, this weirdness extends to the way they dress. Gigi's and Miracle's clothing often points to Gigi's career in the occult—she wears "colorful robes" (5.6) that symbolize different types of rituals and spells she performs, while Miracle obeys her directive of wearing purple clothing to increase her spiritual power.

More significantly, though, clothing is a mark of character change and growth, especially for Miracle and Casey. While Miracle continually wears Dane's ratty bathrobe after his disappearance, she eventually sheds it as she gains more confidence in her life with Gigi and Granddaddy Opal: "I even bought a pretty pair of purple leg warmers and had started to grow my hair so I could wear ribbons like the other girls in the class" (7.24), she notes. After the tornado, though, she puts the robe back on, showing that her life has taken an unstable turn.

Similarly, Casey's clothing changes as her character evolves. At the beginning of the book, she wears high heels and clothing that accentuates her Barbie-like figure and "changed her hair color as often as most people changed their socks" (2.88). Once she begins taking psychology classes and recognizing the issues in her family and marriage, though, things take a drastic turn appearance-wise: "She had even begun to dress differently. Instead of spandex and tight sparkly shirts, she wore baggy jeans and extra large tee shirts" (14.23). Night and day, right?

The point is this: According to the rules of the book, when characters keep wearing the same clothes or go back to wearing stuff they previously gave up, you can be sure they're not making any progress dealing with their issues. When drastic transformations take place, though, you can be certain that any outward changes reflect inner growth.

Occupation

The proverbial daily grind might look different for each of the characters, but it also goes a long way in illuminating their personalities and values. Gigi's career as a medium and expert on the occult is probably the most extreme example—when she works in the back of the gift shop in Georgia, we get some descriptions of the rituals she takes her customers through. Miracle describes:

She'd sit down then and light the candles, and slowly, with a circular, swaying motion in her torso, go into a trance, letting the spirits enter her body […] Her voice would change. (5.6)

Whoa. Gigi's into this occult business hook, line, and sinker—there's no doubting her commitment, even if it's just to an act.

Casey, on the other hand, identifies herself—at least at the beginning of the story—by her work as an entrepreneur and owner of her own hair salon. "She owned it and managed it, and even had a wig-fitting business in her home where she fitted wigs for cancer patients," says Miracle. "It was the only nice thing I'd ever known her to do" (2.92). By the end of the book, though, Casey's priorities seem to have shifted toward earning a degree in psychology and caring for Miracle.

Her work, then, goes from focusing on people's exteriors to their interiors. Fittingly, this syncs up with Casey's shift away from hiding from her family and their past, as well as her marital problems. As she gets real with herself, she gets real with her work. Which isn't a knock on hairdressers—we love hairdressers—but instead an observation about how Casey's work investments mirror her personal investments.

The only person who really seems to have his head on straight about the place of his jobs in his life is Granddaddy Opal. His newspaper delivery job is important to him because it gives him the opportunity to ride his bike and interact with people, but he doesn't neglect Miracle—in fact, he "said he would get me a bicycle and then I could join him on his route" (6.7). Granddaddy Opal has this whole work-family balance thing down pat.