Themes and message

Not fitting in

We learn that the main character of “The Sea in Me” by Krishan Coupland, who is a gifted competitive swimmer, leads a double life – one as a competitive swimmer, who is obedient to her mother and follows her wishes by training intensively for her swimming competitions, and one as a stereotypical teenager, who sneaks away with her boyfriend Martin, has sex with him, and lies to her mother about it. She also does not want to compete anymore but decides not to tell her mother, because the mother has invested too much money and time in her training.

The narration highlights a certain emotional distance between the narrator and her surroundings. She often describes the events and the other characters in unemotional terms. In her story, she often focuses on physical sensations and less on her emotions. When she does share her feelings, she does not provide further details or explanations for why she feels a certain way, which also suggests an emotional detachment from herself.

Her lack of connection with others is suggested through a particular scene in the story, where she wonders what the people who watch her compete would think about her webbed feet and her green hair. She seems certain that they would not like it and that they would judge her. She concludes with a statement highlighting the fact that she does not feel understood by others and does not even hope to be understood: “Nobody can really know what it’s like.” (ll. 56-57). The narrator also seems aware of her inability to express herself, which also makes her appear disconnected from herself: “I never know the right thin...