Isola: A Novel

Marguerite’s water breaks, and she’s wracked with waves of pain as she goes into labor. Damienne helps deliver the baby boy—who Marguerite names Auguste—as well as the afterbirth. Marguerite tries to breastfeed, but she can’t produce any milk. Though she is still frail from childbirth, Marguerite hunts. She finds no land animals, so she sets out with fishing hooks and her afterbirth, which she uses as bait. Along the icy shore, a fish bites the hook and breaks the line. Not deterred, Marguerite tries again, and when a fish bites, she pulls it in. The women eat, but Marguerite still can’t produce milk.

In the following days, Marguerite continues to fish, and while she is out, Damienne swaddles the baby and prays to the Virgin. Despite their best efforts, the baby grows weak and dies. Marguerite breaks apart Auguste’s cittern and places her baby’s body inside. She buries the cittern in the second trunk. Damienne tries to comfort Marguerite with words of faith, but Marguerite cannot understand God’s cruelty.

Warm weather melts the snow, but Marguerite can’t bring herself to clean, eat, or hunt. Damienne asks Marguerite to read from the New Testament because she can’t read it herself, and, moved by Damienne’s grief, Marguerite reads the story of the prodigal son. The story angers Marguerite, who believes the wrong son gets rewarded, but she keeps her comments to herself.

Marguerite can’t appreciate summer’s beauty because of her grief. The women see Roberval’s three ships sailing close by, but despite their attempts to get their attention, the ships sail away. Marguerite curses Roberval and sobs. Damienne accepts their fate to live and die on the island, and the nurse’s courage inspires Marguerite. Marguerite knows Damienne is blameless, so instead of pitying herself, Marguerite decides to survive for Damienne.

Marguerite now feels motivated to hunt and work daily. Work occupies her mind during the day, but she dreams about Auguste and her baby at night. Damienne collects salt from the sea, and she fashions a whetstone to sharpen their knife. The women build up their food storage and adorn their cave with flowers. Marguerite reads scripture, and they sleep in the open air. Damienne feels wiser, and Marguerite revels in making her own decisions like a man.

Damienne tells Marguerite about her life as a girl. She helped her father on the farm until he couldn’t feed her, and then she worked in Perigord’s kitchens. Damienne became Marguerite’s mother’s maid and loved her mistress dearly. She confesses she loves Marguerite like her own child.

One day, Marguerite hears Damienne cry out and discovers that she cut her hand with the sharpened knife. Marguerite stops the bleeding, but the wound becomes infected. Damienne becomes weak and prays for a swift death. Marguerite secretly prays for Damienne to stay alive, but seeing her nurse’s pain, she joins her prayers for a merciful end. Marguerite recites psalms, and when Damienne dies, she thanks God for bringing the woman, who was like a mother, into her life. Marguerite buries Damienne in the third trunk.

Marguerite feels the full solitude of the island. She wanders aimlessly and can’t do anything without Damienne’s instruction. Snow encases the cave, and she lays in the dark thinking about her mortality. After rousing herself, Marguerite tunnels out of the cave. She walks out onto the ice-covered sea, hoping the snow will purify her. She sees a white fox and asks it if it’s an angel. The fox runs away, and Marguerite follows it back to the cave so she won’t freeze.

Suddenly, a polar bear attacks her, and she dives into the cave before it can bite her. The bear claws at the cave for hours. Marguerite falls asleep, and when she wakes, she loads a gun and shoots blindly out of the entrance, wounding the bear’s paw. The bear rips the gun from her hand, but Marguerite loads another and shoots the bear through the heart. As she saw Damienne do, Marguerite cuts off the pelt, meat, and fat and preserves it. She cuts off one of the bear’s claws as a token, and she drags the body away from the cave.

During the winter months, Marguerite feels like an animal hiding in her cave, and she dreams of her own gruesome death. One day, she hears a roaring sound and follows it outside. She sees waves crashing and turning into ice. Marguerite stands in awe, and she feels the overwhelming presence of God. She calls out for forgiveness and prays that her soul will heal. Marguerite returns to the cave to clean herself and tidy her space. She starts a new calendar on Easter Day and reads about Lazarus, feeling similarly reborn.

When summer arrives, Marguerite preserves her gunpowder by fishing and collecting eggs and berries. She reads psalms, and without the fear of Roberval’s instruction, she absorbs the comforting words. She walks around her island barefoot. While washing her linens, Marguerite finds Claire’s ring and wonders whether it’s a miracle or a coincidence. She sits under the stars and ponders God’s riddles.

While heading out to fish, Marguerite hears men talking in a foreign language. She sees two fishing boats and 12 men on the shore. Marguerite fears the rough-looking sailors and returns to her cave. She looks at the bear’s claw and knows she won’t survive another winter without ammunition. Marguerite makes herself presentable and walks down to the shore to speak with the men.