The Leap Themes

The three main themes in “The Leap” are the retention of youth into old age, overcoming personal tragedy, and a mother’s love for her child.

  • The retention of youth into old age: Even at her advanced age and after losing her sight, Anna retains the grace and poise she possessed as a young woman.
  • Overcoming personal tragedy: Anna overcomes the tragic loss of her husband and unborn child in order to begin a new life with the doctor.
  • A mother’s love for her child: Anna risks her life in an effort to save her unborn child and then in order to save her young daughter, the narrator.

The Retention of Youth Into Old Age

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Despite the fact that Anna never discusses the time she spent as part of a blindfolded trapeze act in her youth, the grace she possessed then remains part of her even in her old age. Anna has gone blind, and yet, her daughter (the narrator) says she never loses her balance, knocks anything over, or even bumps into anything as she moves around in total darkness. She has not lost her poise, even though she is quite advanced in years and has lost her sense of sight. Anna appears to be getting around just fine, but her daughter has moved in partially because she feels she owes her. Even by the time the house fire occurred, Anna was distanced from her life as a trapeze artist. Yet even as a mother, with years between her and her training, she retains the skills she developed in her youth in order to save her daughter. Her balance and skill have not left her. Though the audience does not directly encounter Anna—she is introduced through the narrator’s perception of her—one has the sense that her youthful grace has aged well.

Overcoming Personal Tragedy

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Though Anna lost her husband and her unborn child as a result of the terrible accident at the circus, she still grew to love another even after her personal tragedy. She accepted the tutelage of the doctor in the hospital so that she could learn how to read and write, and then she fell in love with him. They married and moved into his family's farmhouse, building a life together and even having a daughter of their own: the narrator herself. We are not given much insight into exactly how Anna took the loss of her husband and child. According to the narrator, this is not a time period that she discusses much with her daughter (or anyone). We can assume, of course, that this loss was profound and took a long time to heal. Anna’s resolution and poise throughout such a heartbreaking endeavor led her to a differently fulfilling life. She came out with a new set of skills, as the narrator describes it: one form of flying for another. 

A Mother's Love for Her Child

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As part of the Flying Avalons, Anna tries to save herself and her unborn child even after she realizes that her husband will die as a result of his fall. She is faced with the split-second opportunity to either plummet with him or save herself: she chooses herself and her seventh-month-old unborn fetus. Later, she puts herself in grave danger to save her daughter from the fire that rages within their home and blocks all passage to the girl. Anna ignores the fact that people are watching, strips off her dress (so that it will not hinder her movements or catch fire), shimmies out onto a too-small branch that snaps when she leaps from it, and saves her daughter. Anna appears to give no thought to her own personal safety and cares only for her daughter's. These sacrifices treat both Anna’s children as an extension of Anna herself.

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