The Long Call

Simon Walden had an albatross tattooed on his neck. Early in the novel, Gaby explains what the albatross meant to Simon. She explains, “He says he carried guilt round with him like the Ancient Mariner, so he had the tat done to remind him” (31). The albatross is an oft-revisited symbol from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” a poem in which a sailor kills an albatross in anger despite the bird’s status as a good-luck charm that helps to direct the ship to warmer seas. As punishment for his crime, the sailor’s crewmates force him to wear the dead bird around his neck. In subsequent works of literature, the image of the albatross has often been invoked as a symbol of the weight of guilt. Notably, Simon chooses to tattoo the albatross on his neck, for this choice aligns him with the Ancient Mariner and makes the symbol of his guilt public, readily visible to anyone he interacts with. This choice emphasizes the fact that Simon defines himself by his guilt and quite literally makes it a part of his body, permanently attaching it to his skin so that he will never forget his crime.