Carr's describes her accommodations, as "There is only two of everything in the kitchen, so I had to sit on a box, drink from a bowl and eat my food out of a tin pie-dish " (32). The fact that the missionaries' living quarters were only built for two indicates that they don't normally entertain quests. Moreover they don't even offer to share their supplies with Carr, this gives Carr and idea of the uninviting environment she is in. "After breakfast came a long Presbyterian prayer. Outside the kitchen window, just a few feet away at the edge of the forest, stood a grand balsam pine tree. It was very tall and straight. The sizzling of the Missionaries ˜trespasses' jumped me back from the pine tree to the Lord's prayer just in time to ˜Amen " (32). Prayer is suppose to be an important part of Carr's culture, but she is distracted by the nature she sees outside of her window. Her interests are changing as she is viewing nature as freedom from the oppression of the missionaries.
The pivotal moment of Carr's identification with the aboriginal peoples occurs when she receives her new name. "Mrs. Wynook put her thumbs into the coroners of her mouth and stretched them upwards. She pointed at me; there was a long, guttural jabber in Chinnook between her and the Missionary. Finally the Missionary said, ˜Klee Wyck is the Indians' name for you. It meant ˜Laughing One " (36). A name is a part of a person and it closely ties to their self-identity. Even accepting a new name temporarily, especially in a public setting is a marker of acceptance of a new identity. What is interesting is Carr doesn't put up any refusal to the name, she willingly accepts the name. This eagerness to accept a new name in place of her old one, which was given by her parents, indicates she wanted to leave behind the ideals of her previous Victorian society. With her new name ˜Klee Wyck' she won't have to conform to the ideals of her previous male dominated society, she is free to explore the new world and express her creativity through painting.
