Virgil Wander

Virgil’s journey begins with a traumatic vehicle accident that leaves him with memory loss and cognitive impairments. Virgil’s rebirth serves as a trigger for him to reconsider his life. Before the tragedy, Virgil’s life was defined by stagnation and unrealized potential. His survival gives him an unexpected opportunity to start over, abandoning the complacency that once defined him. Virgil’s path to redemption doesn’t involve a pilgrimage but instead is rediscovering what he already knew through new eyes. Virgil’s journey isn’t heroic or linear, isn’t progressing to a singular goal, and he sometimes resents the process. He laments, “Seize the day suggests the day has a handle or a set of lapels. I distrust epiphanies” (60). Virgil’s experiences reveal that personal redemption is a complex, sometimes perplexing process marked by painful introspection and confronting one’s mistakes and limitations.

Virgil’s redemption is closely tied to his rediscovery of purpose and passion. He says, “You don’t get many chances to return from the dead” (157), and he wants to get it right. His revival is closely tied to that of the town, a once-thriving community whose economic heyday is long past. As he becomes invested in the town’s renaissance through the reopening of his dilapidated movie theater, Virgil finds a renewed sense of meaning and direction.