The Naming of Maysilee Donner: Not What You Might Think

Author’s Preface: With so much attention focused now on Maysilee’s character in Sunrise, it dawned on me that I still wasn’t sure about Collins’ inspirations for her first and last names. It seemed that previous writers from the trilogy era had not sufficiently solved this puzzle, so I finally decided to dig a bit more with my own research. This post includes the first part of my findings thus far, which I believe bring us much closer to understanding the Donner surname from the Catching Fire era. We will start here with a review of what is most likely about her first name, followed by a more in-depth argument for Collins’ likely associations with the historical Donner Party disaster. Feel free to leave a comment if you might be able to contribute further!

The Multiple Meanings of Maysilee

Like many other characters from District 12, Maysilee’s first name is a product of Collins’ imagination, one which V. Arrow describes simply as “a proprietary name of indeterminate origins.” Author Valerie Frankel agrees, though she provides some possible references to flowers and springtime. She offers, “Maysilee is another made-up name by Collins, one very close to Maylie. Maylie is a form of the English and Scottish name May, referring of course to the spring month. May is also another name for the hawthorn flower and sometimes short for Margaret.” The related names Maisie or Mayse are also used as variants of Margaret, meaning “pearl.” This could connote Maysilee’s passion for jewelry and fashion, as well as her relatively high-end social status, for what it is in District 12. With no need for tesserae, Maysilee’s reaping should have been as statistically unlikely as possible for a sixteen-year-old.

Frankel further suggests the name resembles “May’s Lily, whereby May represents spring and newfound life or rebirth, while the lily is the birth-flower for the month of May. The flower signifies “innocence, purity, and sweetness,” Frankel continues, “but also death, as it often appears at funerals.” Given Collins’ practice of connoting nature and flowers with her District 12 characters, the reference to May’s Lily likely makes the most sense here, as does its Scottish or related origins from the Celtic Isles. It is well documented that Collins’ District 12 leans heavily on the historical settlement patterns of Scots-Irish and otherwise British immigrants during America’s colonial period (Paradis). It is important to keep in mind that all these interpretations were based on Catching Fire, when Maysilee’s character was largely unknown—with nary a prequel in sight.

When Luck Runs Out: The Donner Name and Historical Connections

Even more ambiguous is the intended meaning of the family’s surname, though I hope to shed some light on it here. Frankel is correct that the name “instantly conjures a reference to the Donner Party, possibly the greatest tragedy of the American Pioneer Trail.” (Cattail) Most Americans further associate the event with cannibalism, which is not likely Collins’ intention with Maysilee’s own name. Let’s explore the basics of the historical Donner Party and its aftermath to consider an important parallel that even Wyatt Callow would agree has favorable odds.

In brief for purposes here, the Donner Party’s wagon train had departed Independence, Missouri on the Oregon Trail during the spring of 1846. Together with the Reed family, the party was joined along the way by others heading westward, making their total number close to 100 people. The party included a full mix of men, women, children, teens, and their hired hands and guides. It is important to note that an overland migration prior to the railroads required serious money and resources. Those making the journey already enjoyed varying amounts of wealth and land holdings. Generally speaking, their goal in heading west to California was to acquire more of the same.

What especially made the Donner Party different from all the others traveling that year was one fateful decision made along the way. By the 1840s western migration had become a veritable industry to support the growing number of California dreamers. All industries attract their share of grifters and schemers, and this case was no different. One of them was Lansford Hastings, who had written an ill-informed “guide” that promoted a new “cutoff” route that would apparently shave off several weeks and hundreds of miles from the journey. In reality his scam was devised to attract migrants to places featuring his own business operations, thereby profiteering from the presumed traffic flow. Unfortunately, he had never field tested his own “Hastings cutoff,” which ended up being several times more arduous than the original route and added a month or more to the overland ordeal.

Being the last party to depart Independence that season, they were already several weeks behind the favored schedule for making it across the mountains before winter. The migrants consequently decided to attempt the new cutoff, thereby crossing the Rocky Mountains and the Great Salt Lake Desert in present-day Utah. This ultimately proved unwise, as the group lost many of its cattle and wagons due to the desolate, rugged terrain and challenging river crossings. Long before they reached any snow in the Sierras, the party was already in dangerous disarray and perilously low on food and supplies. Their last stand occurred in early November while pinned down in the Sierra Nevada by a heavy snowfall near Truckee Lake, later renamed to Donner Lake in their honor. Food supplies dwindled, and a month later some of the group set off to seek help at Sutter’s Fort in modern-day Sacramento. No less than three rescue teams were sent during the ensuing winter months, providing some desperately needed food. These rescues succeeded with eventually extracting close to half of the original party to safety at Sutter’s Fort.

Most tragically, some of the remaining migrants—including one of the rescue parties—resorted to cannibalism, relying primarily on those already felled by starvation, illness, or extreme cold. The exception was two native Miwok guides, who were murdered and ultimately consumed during one of the rescue missions. Because indigenous people were perceived by Anglo-Americans as sub-human and savages (sound familiar?), the murderer was never brought to justice and was ultimately deemed a hero for saving lives. Aside from this isolated case, no solid evidence exists that anyone trapped in the mountains was murdered for purposes of sustenance.  Upon completion of the rescue missions, 48 of approximately 87 original members of the Donner Party had survived.

With this basic history in mind, we are more prepared to consider parallels with Maysilee Donner’s own situation. As Valerie Frankel had noted, the most notorious association with the historical Donner Party was cannibalism. Still, no obvious connection with Maysilee, nor with her merchant-class family, seemed to make much sense. And the associations with constant struggle, survival, starvation, and dependence on nature appear to parallel the stories of Seam residents more than others. The Donners of District 12 were neither migrants nor courageous pioneers, but instead made their living among the relatively middle-class families of their community. They further enjoyed a close association with the town’s political elite, eventually marrying into the future mayor’s family, the Undersees. For her part, Maysilee had never known hunger, and she now admits as much in Sunrise. The only direct mentions of cannibalism within the series occur as a reference to the Dark Days when Coriolanus was a child, and with respect to a deranged tribute named Titus. Finding a reputable connection with Maysilee Donner would prove to be a stretch.

Knowing only what we did from Catching Fire, two additional associations between Maysilee and the historical Donner Party are entirely plausible. The first involves their shared socio-economic backgrounds in the middle class. As part of District 12’s “Merchant Class,” Maysilee’s family is relatively well off and has all of their basic needs met. Likewise, members of the historical Donner Party might have been reasonably described as middle class for the time. While certainly not privileged to be members of America’s urban elite, they managed the wherewithal to afford and assemble a substantial wagon train to make their way westward.

What makes this comparison more meaningful, however, is their respective turn of events for the worse. The Donner Party was the one group of migrants which decided to diverge from the well-traveled Oregon Trail. With a leap of faith, they collectively bought into the false advertising of Lansford Hastings to attempt his unproven cutoff instead. This was a rare one-off, even for the still-hazardous covered wagon era that preceded the railroads. In one respect, the Donner Party was unlucky in more ways than one, as they risked everything for the bet of arriving in California sooner than the rest. As it happened, the odds had not been in their favor. Theirs was a rare case of financially secure families meeting their untimely fate by traveling off the beaten path.

Similarly, Maysilee proved to be terribly unlucky as well, this time at the hands of the Capitol. With no need to take tesserae, hers was the rare case of a well-off merchant kid being reaped, just as Primrose Everdeen would be chosen 24 years later with only one slip in the jar. As far as Catching Fire goes, Maysilee’s luck had run out, a devastating turn of events not just for her own family but for those within her supporting social class and friendship network. She was the “one-off,” forced into a one-way trip to the Capitol to be thrown into the arena. In the end, neither Haymitch nor her merchant-class status could save her.

If this is the reason for Maysilee’s last name, it is a good one indeed. The Donner name in District 12 would be associated with an unlucky turn of events descending upon an unlikely social class. Just as the Donner Party’s migrants had taken the “road less traveled” to their ultimate fate, so too did Maysilee with a rare merchant-class ticket to the Capitol. This is most likely the primary reason Maysilee’s last name is Donner. In both cases, their luck ran out, much too soon.

(NOTE: There are numerous deeper associations between Maysilee and the Donner Party now with Sunrise out. Perhaps for a later post or companion book…)

Feature Image: McKenna Grace as Maysilee Donner (Lionsgate/Hunger Games Wiki)