The River

Deliberate and sensitive, Wynn has a temperament far different from his friend Jack’s. He’s often the one who makes larger, more metaphysical connections between the environment he’s in and some deeper aspect of it. Jack sees his friend as “an angel in a way” and notes that “his conscience was clear and he had faith in the essential goodness of the universe and so felt cradled by it” (144). Wynn’s benevolent personality contrasts sharply with Jack’s hard-nosed skepticism.

A former hockey player, Wynn is about six inches taller than Jack. Whereas Jack is nimbler, Wynn “could grunt a car out of the mud” (27). Wynn is a kind of gentle giant; he’s likely much stronger and more powerful than Jack but is reluctant to impose his strength on anyone. Additionally, Wynn is an artist, and his instinct is for contemplation. He tends to be an idealist, as evident in his insistence that they leave the canoe motor at home. Jack sees Wynn as a “purist” in this regard.

Wynn doesn’t see the world in absolutes. He’s reluctant to accept Jack’s premise that Pierre tried to murder his wife. While accepting that it’s plausible, he tends to find reasons to not fully believe that it’s the most likely explanation for Maia’s injuries. Wynn holds himself to a moral code regardless of the circumstances. When he and Jack see the dead bear and her cubs, and Jack urges Wynn to steer toward it because they can scavenge the meat, Wynn refuses. Even when facing such dire circumstances, Wynn doesn’t allow himself to toss aside his virtues, including ethical concerns. Unfortunately, in the survival-driven environment of a wilderness setting with both natural and human threats, this characteristic ultimately leads to his death. When Wynn discovers that Jack is stealing the Texans’ boat, he loudly objects, which sets off a chain reaction that ends with his being fatally shot by Brent.

Unconscious for most of the novel, Maia’s role is mostly passive. When she’s able to speak, she reveals a little about her situation. She tells Wynn and Jack that she comes from a wealthy family in Rhode Island, which she conjectures is likely one of Pierre’s motives for trying to kill her. She also mentions a second possible motive: that Pierre was jealous of her success as a fellow scientist; she’s a geochemist whose reason for being on the river related to her research on how “subarctic rivers and lakes […] absorb acid rain” (167). When Jack and Wynn discover Maia in the bushes, her face is battered and she’s shivering because of hypothermia. Jack’s thoughts convey her appearance:

She was maybe early thirties, dark hair in a braid, hazel eyes, what he could see of them. She was lean, and she had even teeth, unbroken. A strong jaw, also in place, strong dark eyebrows. She looked tough. She must have been tough to survive the two days exposed (81).

Toward the end of the novel, we learn that Maia’s injuries included a “perforated intestine” and “broken ribs” (251). Maia demonstrates gratitude by calling Wynn’s mother after returning to New England to receive further medical care.

The novel’s antagonist, Pierre first appears while paddling his canoe toward a waterfall along the river’s left bank, apparently unaware of the necessity to steer the canoe toward the right bank, where a landing leads to a portage around the fall. When Pierre hears Jack and Wynn’s warning and finally arrives at the landing, he appears scared. The narrative notes, “He was young, maybe midthirties. Mussed dark curly hair, a few days of beard, red-rimmed blue eyes, a stunned look, maybe panic or shock” (62). Pierre has bloodstains on his leg from an apparent injury. In addition, he’s nearsighted, which Maia reveals later in the book when she tells Wynn and Jack that she broke his glasses, so he’s at a disadvantage. Pierre carries a shotgun, but because of his nearsightedness, his target must be close enough for him to see it.

Pierre’s violent outburst in beating and trying to murder Maia is likely unplanned because it takes place in the cover of heavy fog after a loud and abrasive argument. Maia later reveals that he was jealous that she’d published her research in academic journals, while he hadn’t—and that he likely married her only because her family is wealthy. The story he tells Jack and Wynn—that Maia mysteriously went missing—suggests that he hasn’t quite figured out a believable explanation for her being gone. When Wynn and Jack decide to circle back and search for Maia, Pierre hands them a walkie-talkie, and Jack later concludes that Pierre gives them the radios so that they’ll inform him if they find Maia. Pierre is ultimately killed by the Texans as he waits to ambush Jack and Wynn, mistaking the Texans for them because they’re in Jack and Wynn’s canoe.