The Hare

Hares may look like cute little bunnies, but these guys are tough. They're strong and fast, and basically way more hardcore than we might think—these guys are fluffy little survivors. Gee, sound like anyone we know from this story?

Hare Today, Hare Tomorrow, Too

You cannot miss the hares in this story. They pop up everywhere. In fact, one makes an appearance in each of Eric and Merle's lifetimes:

• June 2073: Eric Seven sees a hare outside of his house and steps aside for it.
• July 2011: Eric carries a stuffed hare, and might have been injured while chasing hares.
• August 1944: David sees a hare right before Eric finds him.
• September 1902: Merle gets a carved hare from her mother as a gift.
• October 1848: Merle turns into a hare and is killed. Bummer.
• November, 10th century: Melle's totem is the hare.
• December, time unknown: Queen Melle hunts winter hare and wears their bones.

That's a whole lot of hare cameos. And whenever that happens in a book, well, we know they're not just there for us to coo over.

Though both Eric and Merle encounter hares, they're really associated with Merle. In 1848, Erika describes her lover using the same terms you might apply to a hare—she's "like some fresh and fast creature from the fields" and has "light brown hair [that] streamed down her back" (5.2.3). In the 10th century, Melle is assigned a hare as her totem when she's born, so the little creature is supposed to protect her throughout her life. It seems to stick with her throughout her lives, though, because whenever we see a hare, Merle's not far behind.

It kind of fits that the hare is tied to Merle. She's the follower in the relationship, after all, so we might imagine her hopping and running around through lives trying to find Eric. Her personality is also a bit rabbit-like. She's bright and quick-witted, as well as sort of tricky and clever, like some other famous rabbits in literature. Hares: cute, but dexterous, just like the character they represent.