We started dying before the snow, and like the snow, we continued to fall.
Central to the narrative is the historically factual account of an influenza epidemic which devastated the Chippewa tribe with pneumonia in the early decades of the 20th century. The book opens with tribal elder Nanapush relating the history of the Anishinabe tribe (more familiarly known as Chippewa to most). The quote does more than merely situate the fiction of the novel within a backdrop of historicity, however. It also sets a precedent for a tonal theme that will recur again and again throughout the book which demonstrates an intricate and inextricable link between tribal people and weather—and the possibility of actually having control over the weather.
Men stayed clear of Fleur Pillager after the second drowning. Even though she was good-looking, nobody dared to court her because it was clear that Misshepeshu, the water man, the monster, wanted her for himself.
While the novel is a work of realistic fiction, it does contain elements of the supernatural or unexplained. These intrude into the world of reality rather than the other way around so that the book is sometimes categorized within the genre of magical realism. Fleur Pillager is the centerpiece of this magical aspect of the realism within the novel, a fascinating character sometimes described as a “water witch” and whom that potential of controlling the weather is situated around. The other central figure in the supernatural intrusions into reality is the “lake monster” called Misshepeshu. This creature also makes much briefer appearances in a couple of other books by Erdrich, Love Medicine and The Bingo Palace. Of course, it is important to keep in mind above all else that this quote is not from a objective, anonymous, third-person narrator, but is a subjective, first-person account by Pauline. So the reader must take into account her reliability before accepting anything she says about Fleur at face value.
Fleur poured a pitcher of warm water over me and then began to shampoo my head and hair. It was so terrible, so pleasant, that I abandoned my Lord and all His rules and special requirements.
Fleur may be fascinating and bewitching, but Pauline is challenging as a character. Her subjective viewpoint is troubling in the sense of knowing what to believe and what to discount, for sure, but that is only because her perspective of Fleur is so complicated. Fleur Pillager is the protagonist of the story and the its star character without a doubt, but because it is Pauline telling half the story—a duty shared with Nanapush—it is she who winds up becoming of greater interest to some readers. As the narrative moves forward, the reader becomes more emotionally connected to Fleur, but the reader’s mind cannot help but be attracted to Pauline. She can be described as eccentric or bizarre and both seem appropriate. By the end, one thing becomes clear: Fleur Pillager’s life story may be interesting in itself, but not half as interesting as the way Pauline helps tell it.
Power dies, power goes under and gutters out, ungraspable. It is momentary quick of flight and liable to deceive. As soon as you rely on the possession it is gone. Forget that it ever existed, and it returns. I never made the mistake of thinking that I owned my own strength, that was my secret.
This is advice dispensed to the reader, but it is really intended for Fleur in the aftermath of the death of her son. The fact that this is conveyed not through direct dialogue—not as an address directly to Fleur—but through his narration is significant and exemplary of the way much of the book is structured. Splitting the duties of narration between two first-person accounts is not a decision an author makes lightly. Dual narratives—or multiple narratives in the cases of other Erdrich books—serves a purpose. As does structuring a character’s “advice” so that it is told to reader rather than the person who needs it. The purpose here is clear enough by this point in the novel: Nanapush wants to, well, push his philosophical agenda because it is something he believes in very deep. But Fleur is too stubborn and hard-headed to listen, much less take it to heart.
