In this quotation from Chapter 4, Jonas’s mild exasperation with some of the community rules, combined with the “trust” and “safety” he feels while bathing the woman, subtly foreshadow the intense feelings of rebellion and the deep longing for love that accompany his training for Receiver. We see that,even before Jonas was exposed to the world of beauty, diversity, and emotion that the Giver opens up for him, he has some understanding of what is missing in his community, even though he still stays strictly within the rules.

Especially noteworthy is Jonas’s use of the word “free”: without her clothes, when she is “unprotected” and “exposed,” the old woman is also free. Since her age and nakedness make her completely vulnerable to Jonas, it seems odd that Larissa could be described as free: any decision she makes can be easily vetoed, and any action she makes can be suppressed. Yet she is free of her clothes, and because of her age she is free of the social code that requires citizens to conceal their nakedness. For Jonas, this freedom from the social code is the most significant kind of freedom there is, and freedom from clothing becomes a metaphor for freedom from social conventions and rules. To be emotionally naked, for Jonas, is to dispense with the formalities of strict politeness and precise language. Jonas’s use of the word “free” also reveals that he is already thinking about the limits his society puts on freedom.

The trust and safety he feels with the old woman also foreshadows his relationships with the Giver, an older man whom he begins to love like a grandfather, as well as his longing for a close relationship with grandparents. The description of the Christmas scene that teaches Jonas about grandparents evokes warmth and comfort in the same way that the scene with Larissa does, showing that Jonas is already sensitive to these pleasures.