Character Analysis
Clan of the Cave Under There
While we learn the names of all the cave dwellers, most of them don't have any impact on the plot. They first glower at Wanda, then they accept her. Well, some of them.
The ones that do accept her, like Heidi or Lily, treat Wanda as one of their own. They braid her hair, prepare food with her, and play games with her. Wanda gets involved in their lives too. She experiences the vicarious thrills of a new relationship when Lily and Wes get together, and she feels the heartbreaking sorrow when the Seeker kills Wes. Through them, Wanda realizes that human friendship has its highs and its lows, but friends stick together through it all, blah blah zzzzz.
What? Oh sorry. Back to the analysis.
Not everyone is eager to be Wanda's friend, like Melanie's cousin Sharon. She's the reason Melanie went to Chicago, where she got caught. However, once Wanda/Melanie see her again in the caves, Sharon treats them with anger and disdain. Every single scene with her is a glowering stare or a rude remark. The same applies to Melanie's Aunt Maggie. Crusty old Magnolia isn't capable of accepting Wanda either. Neither Sharon nor Maggie ever express sympathy toward Wanda, not even when she's put in a different body at the end.
The wide variety of humans stand in stark contrast to the blissful utopia the souls have created. The humans run the gamut from cheerful hard workers to bitter and sullen killjoys. Will humanity ever live in harmony?