Angelfall

Penryn’s life is consumed with trying to keep her sister, who is paraplegic, and her mother, who has schizophrenia, safe and cared for, and these challenges are only complicated further by the apocalypse. She even becomes a caretaker to Raffe—an archangel whose strength theoretically far exceeds that of any human—when he too becomes disabled with the loss of his wings. While Penryn acts as a caretaker for the people in her life, they each also care for and protect her: Raffe fights side by side with Penryn against their many enemies, Penryn’s mother provides them with food and shelter by killing the person guarding the office building in Chapter 6, and Paige rescues both Penryn and Raffe at the end of the book. These characters’ disabilities mean that they sometimes need Paige’s help, but she needs them as well.

The presence of characters with disabilities is somewhat rare in apocalyptic fiction, perhaps due to a conscious or unconscious bias that people with disabilities would not survive harsh conditions or would not be valued enough to warrant the care they would need. Penryn’s entire character negates this ableist belief, as she devotes all her energy, no matter how little she has, to keeping her family members alive, and receives care in return from them. Because Penryn, the narrator, is not disabled, the novel does not depict what living with disabilities during the apocalypse is like, but what caring for people with disabilities as an abled person is like. Penryn’s status as a caretaker becomes a core part of her sense of self, but she must learn to let go of this identity if she is to see her loved ones as full human beings.  

Penryn’s identity, whether she realizes it or not, has been eroded by years of caring for her family members. The book does not make any claim that this is “bad” or “good,” nor that Paige or her mother are guilty somehow for causing it, but it is clear in multiple scenes that Penryn does not know how to function without caring for others. Penryn’s responses and personal goals have been numbed. She hardly reacts when her mother slaps her, viewing abuse as a natural outcome of her mother’s mental illness, one she must suffer to keep her mother safe. Additionally, Penryn’s single-minded devotion to saving her sister, while certainly a sign of love, also suggests that Penryn depends on the belief that Paige needs her: In a dangerous and often miserable post-apocalyptic world, her sister’s need for her gives her a reason to keep living. This dynamic becomes especially apparent toward the climax of the novel: When Penryn realizes that the angels’ horrific experiments have restored Paige’s ability to walk, she considers leaving her behind. Paige no longer needs Penryn, and for a moment, Penryn wonders whether this means she no longer needs Paige. Penryn must struggle with her sister’s identity as a human being rather than an object. Although she internally believes that she views Paige as a human, Paige’s transformation into something different—yet still human, and still capable of care—shows that she has never really seen Paige as more than an object needing care. When the status quo changes, Penryn does not know how to react and is forced to reassess her entire view of her sister in response. Ironically, Paige’s transformation forces Penryn to realize that she has been human this entire time—it is Penryn, with her numbed, robotic view of Paige as a helpless object, who must change and grow in response.

Penryn’s internalized beliefs about herself and her disabled family members are overturned by the end of the novel, thematically reestablishing the value and humanity of these characters. Paige carries Penryn to safety, reasserting the value of both of their lives, and Penryn is rendered powerless for the entire conclusion, forcing her to rely on others for her care rather than vice versa. Penryn’s mother never makes a miraculous “recovery” like Paige does, and Penryn’s frustration at this lack of change reflects the intensity of her isolation and forced role as caretaker. Altogether, the novel presents characters with disabilities as they are: humans in need of care, just like everyone else in the apocalypse. The issue is not with them, but with Penryn—while her efforts to keep them alive are crucial, her single-minded determination to be their abled savior ultimately harms both her and those around her.