55 pages • 1 hour read
Bonnie Jo CampbellThe Waters
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 6-10Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 6 Summary: “Times Change Faster Than the People in Them”
The novel explores the history of Whiteheart’s agriculture. Initially, Whiteheart celery was grown, but then the economy shifted so that nearly everyone turned to farming soybean or corn. In time, the use of chemical fertilizers was normalized, which affected the plant and animal life in the swampy area.
While Hermine is in the hospital, many people pray for her healing, but others, such as Reverend Roy, feel that the gunshot is an apt punishment for the abortions that Hermine provides. Although he and Molly have a relationship, neither wants any kind of permanent commitment such as legal marriage. One day, Roy brings several men to a secret part of the church basement. It is covered in elaborate frescoes and is the location where men once held secret meetings. The bones of a woman said to be Baba Rose’s mother are also housed there. (Later, Hermine will insist that the men have hidden her hand there as well). Roy instructs the men to cement over the walls. As they work, one of the men, Standish, recalls shooting Hermine in retaliation for the abortion she induced in his teen daughter. He was the man in camouflage whom Donkey saw lurking near the island.
Chapter 7 Summary: “No Place Like Home”
Hermine is discharged to a nursing home for rehabilitation and to be fitted with a hearing device. Titus has been completing the chores on the island; this is the first time he has ever set foot on it. Though Molly insists that Donkey attend summer school and that Hermine no longer live in Rose Cottage, Titus and Donkey protest this plan.
On the day Hermine is released, they stop at Boneset Table on the way to Rose Cottage. Rose Cottage shows evidence of Molly’s vigorous cleaning and disinfecting. She hopes to sell Rose Cottage to the church, which plans to tear it down and replace it with a new prayer center. Hermine is upset to see that the fire—Baba Rose’s fire, which she had promised to keep lit—has gone out. Hermine fears that this lapse has caused Baba Rose’s ghost to be sent away, but Donkey says that they can start a new fire. Hermine insists that she will die now without the use of her right hand to heal others. Titus orders Donkey to remain on the island to care for Hermine and forbids her to go to Boneset. He gives her pain pills from the hospital and asks about his “thinblood” medicine. As he leaves, Donkey spots the Massasauga snake inside the pantry where Hermine keeps her medicines. Later, Donkey pleads with Hermine, begging her not to die and promising to become Hermine’s right hand.
Chapter 8 Summary: “Everyone Alive Is Dying”
Hermine is listless each day, waiting for a sign from Baba Rose. One morning, Rose Thorn suddenly returns. Donkey is overjoyed and Hermine even brings herself to speak again. Donkey tells Rose Thorn that Titus has been dating a woman named Lorena, even though he still wishes to marry Rose Thorn. Once inside the cottage, Rose Thorn presents a Massasauga snakeskin that she has found. Noticing a hole the size of a pencil point, Donkey is certain that it is the same snake she accidentally released. However, Hermine refuses to accept the snakeskin (which is an ingredient in some of her medicines). She insists that she will do no more healing and that it is Donkey’s turn to take over. Donkey preserves the skin and discovers that it bears two punctures. She is certain that some of the snake’s blood has mixed with her own blood, making her and the snake blood sisters.
Rose Thorn promises Donkey that she will stay this time, though she credits Prim for taking her out of the psychiatric ward in which she was confined after burning herself with a cigarette the last time she was in Whiteheart. Donkey vows to focus on preventing Rose Thorn from leaving again. They talk of Hermine, and when Rose Thorn asks who shot her, Donkey explains that the incident was deemed an accident. Rose Thorn then reveals that she has breast cancer. This upsets Donkey because cancer is the one illness that Hermine cannot cure. Rose Thorn gives Donkey a gift: a set of Matryoshka dolls. She has placed her amber stone from Titus in the center. Rose Thorn asks Donkey to keep her cancer diagnosis a secret for now.
The next morning, Donkey asks Rose Thorn to reveal the identity of her father, but Rose Thorn refuses. Donkey wants her to marry Titus. They discuss whether Hermine can hear them or is merely ignoring them. Hermine has fallen into the practice of spending nearly all day at Baba Rose’s grave, waiting for instructions. Whenever Donkey interrupts, she tells the girl to bury her with her string of cowry shells when she dies. Donkey tells Rose Thorn that she thinks she may have a twin sister who is a Massasauga snake.
Chapter 9 Summary: “Rose Thorn Always Comes Home”
The news of Rose Thorn’s return spreads quickly, even reaching people who no longer live in Whiteheart. Out of nostalgia for the place, they return with their families, hoping to get a glimpse of her and learn more about Hermine’s current condition. Many men secretly worry that their bullets unintentionally hit Hermine. However, Jamie Standish is the one who intentionally shot her out frustration over the women in his life—his daughter, wife, and mother. Rose Thorn’s return casts a spell on the area. Men are kinder to their sons, and women grow nostalgic and become eager to plant Whiteheart celery from seed in the absence of any from Hermine. Titus continues to visit Rose Cottage to help out. He also hopes see Rose Thorn, who always sleeps late. He and Lorena begin to quarrel. One day, Ada McIntyre dies.
Donkey urges Hermine to get back to making medicine, but Hermine will only half-heartedly crush the seeds that Donkey places in front of her. When Donkey shows her the requests for help that she has received, Hermine angrily orders Donkey to make the medicine herself. Donkey knows that she can likely do so, but she fears that Hermine’s lack of interest in medicine means that she is dying. Donkey feels a sese of completion with Rose Thorn present but worries about her cancer, which causes Rose Thorn to emit a fishy odor.
One day, Rose Thorn has only one remaining cigarette, so she leaves the cottage for Boneset Table, hoping to meet someone who will give or sell her more. Donkey accompanies her, even though she worries about leaving Hermine alone. Titus stops by Boneset Table and is overjoyed to see Rose Thorn. He is happy to fulfill her request of retrieving the books she has stored at his farm. Donkey helps him to carry the books and tells Titus that per his instructions, she has been throwing away any cowry shells that have appeared. (The cowry shells symbolize a request for an abortion.) When they return with the books, Rose Thorn wants to discuss who may have shot Hermine. She says that she is aware that Titus has been blocking the abortion requests. The two argue until Lorena arrives and Titus leaves with her.
Chapter 10 Summary: “Love, Like Hope, Springs Eternal”
That day is also the day of Ada McIntyre’s funeral. At Boneset Table, Donkey weeds the garden while Rose Thorn reads. As the funeral ends, mourners gradually gather at Boneset Table, drawn to Rose Thorn. Slowly, a large group forms. They all ask about Hermine and wonder why she is no longer making medicine. In turn, Rose Thorn asks for information about the gunshot that ruined Hermine’s hand. The gathering becomes a party as people play musical instruments, drink, and celebrate Ada McIntyre’s life.
Roger McIntyre arrives and pulls a gun from the truck bed, then feigns shooting at Hermine’s donkeys. Donkey dives into the pen, putting herself in harm’s way. Roger enters the pen with her, and the two talk. Suddenly, Donkey feels a kick from a donkey named Triumph. He has pinned Donkey between himself and Aster, who is in heat. Donkey picks herself up and avoids eye contact with Roger as Triumph mates with Aster. After Triumph finishes, Donkey returns to the island, leaving the bridge lowered so that she can return to check on Aster later that night. Later that night, Titus notices that the bridge still lowered and ventures onto the island. He finds Rose Thorn, and they kiss and have sex in the grass outside. Though Rose Thorn wants to be with Titus, she refuses once again to marry him. She tells him of the cyst in her breast but does not explain that it is cancerous.
Chapters 6-10 Analysis
These chapters explore a new angle of The Interconnectedness of Illness and Healing as Hermine suffers irrevocable spiritual changes after the loss of her hand. Because she has always used her right hand to make medicine, she equates the loss of her hand with the loss of her talent, and Donkey fears that the loss of Hermine’s ability to heal and her resulting depression will prevent her from fully resuming her previous life. As she waits for guidance from Baba Rose and becomes increasingly silent, the narrative suggests that Hermine’s healing abilities have indeed abandoned her, and the loss of Baba Rose’s memorial fire is also suggestive that some essential magic has been irrevocably lost. Bound by long tradition, Hermine regards her healing endeavors as a continuation of those performed by her grandmother; likewise, she believes that she has disappointed Baba Rose by losing her ability to heal. Although Hermine had been losing her hearing in small amounts prior to her injury, Molly and Donkey now wonder whether she has lost it entirely, but it eventually becomes evident that Hermine is merely choosing not to speak. Her silence is symbolic of the fact that her authority and abilities have been silenced by the gunshot. However, the theme of Matriarchy and the Power of Women still holds true when Donkey steps in to care for Hermine, as foretold by Rose Thorn, and even offers to become her right hand. In this way, Donkey goes beyond the offer to guide Hermine through day-to-day tasks, for she is really offering to serve as a conduit for Hermine’s healing talents. The injury also has a wave of unforeseen social side effects, for as the news spreads, people’s various responses reveal their duplicitous nature. Although they gossip about her healing abilities and harshly accuse her of practicing witchcraft, they also depend on her remedies and clearly feel the absence of Hermine’s aid. By withholding her medicine, Hermine exacts a pointed punishment for the person who dared to shoot her, and for the entire community.
Within these many troubles, Rose Thorn’s return marks a bright spot for Donkey and enhances the quasi-magical essence of the narrative, for her sunny demeanor and springtime arrivals symbolize the return of life, hope, and joy. Though Donkey is confident that Rose Thorn will always return each spring, her arrival is no less welcome. Like spring itself, Rose Thorn has a way of lifting the spirit of the island and of Whiteheart merely through her presence. This return parallels the moment she brought the newborn Donkey to Rose Cottage. Now, her arrival serves as a deliberate reversal; for this time, she arrives with breast cancer and imbues the landscape with The Danger of Secrets, making Donkey promise not to reveal her illness to anyone else. Donkey therefore becomes complicit in Rose Thorn’s decision to hide her diagnosis, and just as Rose Thorn was uncertain whether to give birth to Donkey, now she is now uncertain whether to receive medical treatment. By returning to Rose Cottage, she reveals her implicit hope that Hermine will heal her.
Rose Thorn’s return raises Donkey’s hope that her mother will finally marry Titus, whose love for her cannot be eradicated despite his new relationship with Lorena. Indeed, Rose Thorn and Titus are able to resume their relationship when Rose Thorn returns, sinking into a comfortable dynamic of familiarity that eventually leads them to have sex and signal the renewal of their amorous intentions. In this moment, Rose Thorn informs Titus of the cyst in her breast, demonstrating her trust in his discretion and her fierce love for him. Within this context, it becomes clear that her refusal to marry him stems from her unwillingness to become the kind of wife that Titus wants. As a free spirit who wanders between Whiteheart and California, Rose Thorn does not want to limit herself to the duties of a farm wife who remains tied to land and labor. Though Rose Thorn has received a reputation for being lazy, in her view, she has a strong-willed nature that prevents her from enduring the daily work that Hermine and Donkey embrace. The two lovers are further separated by their differing views on the abortions that Hermine provides, and this conflict of religious and political views stands as a significant barrier.
In this midst of these various dramas, Donkey’s experiences reveal her growing importance to her family and community, further emphasizing Matriarchy and the Power of Women. As she learns more about the healing arts, the quasi-magical nature of the narrative reasserts itself in her perceptions and reasoning. For example, the reappearances of the Massasauga snake serve as frequent reminders of how her actions indirectly impacted the loss of Hermine’s hand. Donkey sees a direct link between her decision to disobey Hermine’s orders by releasing the snake and Hermine’s infection from the gunshot wound. Importantly, Donkey has maimed the snake itself with the pencil puncture, and she adamantly believes that the blood they have exchanged links her to the snake with an almost sisterly bond. Donkey’s strong connection to animals therefore extends to all creatures, even dangerous ones. When she is quite literally caught in the middle of the mating of the two donkeys, Triumph and Disaster, she is taken aback by the male’s aggression. Focused on the act of sex, Triumph is eager and dominant in a way that appears cruel to Donkey. This dynamic indirectly reinforces Hermine’s description of men as “brutes” and serves as evidence of the harm that they can cause.
