Prophet Song

Content Warning: This section of the Study Guide discusses police brutality, torture, and violence, including the murders of children.

Eilish Stack is the central protagonist of Prophet Song. The narrative is told through a third-person limited point of view that focuses on her thoughts, feelings, and experiences. At the start of the novel, Eilish is an ordinary person, representing an “everywoman” archetype: She is a mother of four, wife of a teacher, a microbiologist, and a caregiver for an aging parent who spends her days in the routine of family and work. The novel traces her character development and family’s upheaval as her ordinary yet fulfilling life is torn apart by fascist takeover of Ireland.

As Ireland descends into fascism and war, Eilish is characterized through her resilience and fortitude in the face of constant pressure, buoyed by her belief in The Power of the Family Unit. Eilish is also intelligent and intuitive, displaying a scientific awareness of her children’s needs and development: “She rubs her thumb along [Ben’s] jaw wondering what it is a child this age can know of the world […] the child absorbing the mother’s trauma and storing it for later use” (224).