Content Warning: The following article contains discussions of sexual assault.
Olivia Newman's Where The Crawdads Sing is the latest film adaptation, and its book was likely inspired by possible true story. With Daisy Edgar-Jones receiving great praises for her empowering performance as Kya, many people can easily sympathize with the young marsh girl, who has always been treated as an outcast in her community and now stands trial.
Despite the mistreatment, Kya demonstrated her strength to prove her innocence and even found a stronger voice when defending herself against others. She has dealt with loneliness and trauma her whole life, but her love for nature helped her find peace and independence, with a few important and poignant quotes emphasizing that.
"People Forget About The Creatures Who Live In Shells."
Kya
While Kya is technically talking about a mollusk, she is more metaphorically and truthfully talking about herself. Having lived her entire life in the marsh, only ever interacting with her family and a select few other people, Kya has grown up an isolated outsider to her North Carolina community.
Kya is a metaphor to that for a mollusk. The marsh is Kya's shell with it being a familiar and warm home that protects her from the cruel judgment and callousness of the outside world.
"If We Lose, We Lose Big. It’s Life In Prison Or The Other."
Tom Milton
Tom Milton, played by the immensely talented David Strathairn, tells Kya this when she refuses to enter a plea deal, warning her that she will receive life in prison or the death penalty should she lose the case.
It highlights the impossible situation Kya finds herself in, being forced to either admit to wrongdoing or try her luck in court against a jury of her peers. To make things worst, the jury consists of the very same people who have ostracized her for years and already have negative notions of her in their heads. Nevertheless, she remains firm about her innocence, which was what matters most to her.
"Within All The Words Of Biology, I Searched For An Explanation Of Why A Mother Would Leave Her Offspring."
Kya
Daisy Edgar-Jones is no stranger to heartbreaking lines, especially if it considers the films and television series people saw her in before Where The Crawdads Sing. As part of the context of this quote, Kya's mother also left her when she was a child to escape her husband's abuse, and despite waiting for her, Kya did not hear from her mother since.
Nature often acts as an escape for Kya, with the writing and drawings she creates of it being one of her greatest joys in life. Yet, the more she learns about nature, the more she is reminded of the cruelty of humanity and the pain that comes with being left by her mother.
"The Heart’s Pain Seeped Away Like Water Into Sand, Still There But Deep."
Kya
While Kya and Tate Walker do eventually get back together and later become a loving old couple, the pair faced a serious rough patch due to Tate abandoning Kya. After leaving for college, Tate promised to visit Kya on the Fourth of July, only to never show and then never write her in all the time they spent apart.
Kya was understandably devastated by this and struggled with the heartbreak. Ever resilient, Kya soldiered on with her life, though she couldn't help but admit how the hurt she felt still lingered.
"It’s Like Having A Friend Your Whole Life But You Never See Their Face."
Kya
Kya states this when she views the entire marsh from the top of the fire tower with Chase Andrews. What makes this quote so powerful is how it showcases how much Kya truly views the marsh as a living breathing entity and more importantly as a friend.
Isolated from society and abandoned by her family, Kya had nobody but the plants and animals of the marsh to keep her company. She grew and changed along with it, and it essentially taught her how to survive, making it a friendship that changed Kya's life.
"I Thought I Had To Choose Between You And Everything Else."
Tate
Tate - having finally returned to Kya after years of not contacting her - desperately attempts to apologize to her, though Kya is not having any of it. Tate tries to explain his reasoning, stating that he knew Kya would never leave the marsh and that he wanted to explore more of the world.
He tells her that he ultimately decided that none of the rest of the world was worth as much to him as Kya is, and that he was back for good. It is a mistake that he realizes will take time to forgive, and he does what he can to at least warn her of Chase Andrews.
"One Thing I Learned From Pa, These Men Have To Have The Last Punch."
Kya
Having successfully fought off Chase's violent sexual assault, Kya knew from her previous experiences with a horribly abusive and cruel man - her own father - that Chase would not relent and, if anything, would be even more determined to hurt her after the incident.
Kya knew that Chase's ego would drive him to come out "victorious" in the end, and this made Kya realize that Chase had to be dealt with in some way if she ever wanted to live peacefully again.
"I Don’t Know If There’s A Dark Side To Nature."
Kya
Kya is so close to nature, having embraced it her whole life. She has seen what many others would describe as its horrors, in which the desperate things nature's creatures would do to survive.
Kya doesn't see these acts as evil, however, and accepts them as things that must happen for one to live in such a harsh environment. Kya takes this lesson to heart in regards to her own life and makes sure to take whatever measures she deems necessary in order to survive herself.
"The Marsh Knows All About Death And Doesn’t Necessarily Define It As A Tragedy."
Kya
Having grown up in the marsh, Kya knows the truth about nature, which is about the difficult acts that must be undertaken for creatures to survive and thrive. Death is all too common in nature, and a prey killed by its predator is just an inescapable fact of the world.
Kya doesn't view these deaths in nature as an ugly or even sad thing, and it's why she views Chase Andrew's death in very same light. In order for her to live, Chase Andrews had to die.
"I Hope When It Is Time For Me To Leave. I Will Go Quick And Easy Without Making Too Much Noise."
Kya
After a lifetime of heartache and struggle and being abandoned as a young girl, and repeatedly suffering abuse, Kya finally achieved peace in her life after the trial. She became an extremely successful author of nature books and spent the rest of her life with her true love Tate.
She died quietly in the marsh she had always loved, and more importantly, with the world ultimately clueless to the true circumstances of Chase Andrew's death.