Love Medicine: Crown of Thorns Summary & Analysis

Gordie took his first drink in a long time about a month after June’s death, and he has been in a downward spiral ever since. His hands seem to pick up drinks without any conscious thought, like they remember something he can’t. His hands are always remembering things he would rather forget. Gordie looks at his hands now, large and shaking at Eli’s table, and thinks of how he was once a Golden Gloves boxer, but he mostly just hit June.

Eli pushes an egg across the table at Gordie. It is six o’clock in the morning, but Gordie refuses to eat. Gordie picks up a beer can, empties it into his mouth, and stands to leave. He goes outside and begins to shake again. He hasn’t eaten properly in over a week, and his clothes hang off him in a sickly way. Gordie gets in his car and manages to make it home. A few more bottles will straighten him out, Gordie thinks. He calls a friend and convinces him to buy four bottles of liquor to hold Gordie off until payday. Gordie’s friend agrees—as long as Gordie pays him interest, of course.

Days pass and the liquor is gone. Gordie manages to find a couple bottles of wine, but he knows he is too far gone. He feels trapped in his small house, and he can’t remember the last time he slept. Gordie bought the tiny house and fixed it up not long after June left him. Now, sitting in the silent space all alone, Gordie grows acutely aware of the fact that he both misses June and is glad to be free of her. Still, he finds it hard to believe she isn’t coming back. “I love you, little cousin!” Gordie yells out loud. “June!” Gordie is instantly regretful that he spoke June’s name out loud. His grandmother, Rushes Bear, always said one should never call the name of the dead—you can never be entirely sure that they won’t answer.

Sitting in the house alone, the quiet gets to Gordie, so he switches on the television, turning the volume up loud. He flips on the vacuum in the corner and looks to the window in the bathroom. Gordie sees June’s face reflected in the dark glass and turns to run. He hears June bang on the window and then the sound of breaking glass. All of the appliances are on in the kitchen, and Gordie stands in the light of the open refrigerator hoping the light will save him from June. He plugs in the toaster oven into the wall to add to the chaos and blows the circuit with a loud crack. Standing in the dark, Gordie can feel June coming for him, so he grabs his keys and runs outside.

Driving away from the house, Gordie is so relieved to be away from June that he forgets how sick he is. His hands shake as he holds the steering wheel, but he continues to drive slowly and tries to concentrate. Gordie hasn’t gone far when a deer runs out in front of his car. He takes it square in the hood and gets out to assess the damage. The deer, a doe, is clearly dead. Someone on the reservation will probably trade her for a bottle or two, Gordie thinks, so he drags the doe back to the car.

Back at the car, Gordie can’t get the trunk open, so he is forced to cram the dead deer into the backseat. She fits perfectly, and Gordie gets back in and starts driving. As Gordie drives, he looks in the rearview mirror and sees the doe sit up. She was only stunned, he thinks, and then their eyes meet. The deer looks right through Gordie and knows that he has “woven his own crown of thorns” and does not deserve to escape his pain. Gordie grabs the tire iron he keeps under the seat and strikes the deer in the head, directly between the eyes. Gordie turns and continues driving.  

As Gordie continues to drive, his shaking worsens. He can feel it deep in his bones, and he is forced to stop the car. After Gordie pulls over, he looks to the backseat and knows in that moment that he has “just killed June.” Shaking, Gordie gets back into the car and drives.

At the Sacred Heart Convent, Sister Mary Martin de Porres can’t sleep. She is startled by Gordie’s sudden presence at her window and can’t figure out what anyone would be doing sneaking around the convent this time of night. Gordie has come to confess, he says urgently. Sister Mary tries to explain that she isn’t a priest, but Gordie continues to talk and is obviously distraught. She finally agrees to hear his confession, and while Gordie’s words are hurried and unclear, Sister Mary is able to figure out that this man at her window has just murdered his wife.

Sister Mary asks Gordie where his wife is now, and he leads her out to the car. As Sister Mary approaches the car, she braces herself for the dead woman in the back, but when she looks in, she discovers the dead and bloody deer instead. She climbs in just to be certain and then gets out, running directly at Gordie. Gordie runs into the woods, and Sister Mary goes back to the convent to call the police. As she waits with the other nuns for the police to arrive, they can hear Gordie wailing somewhere deep in the woods.