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.
Symbols & Motifs
The Massasauga Snake
This poisonous rattlesnake species is a known threat throughout Whiteheart. The presence of the snake on the island impacts several of the novel’s key characters, even before the start of the novel, for it caused the death of Baba Rose years ago. Later, Hermine saves Wild Will when he is bitten by a Massasauga; the bite subsequently makes him impervious to further venom, or so asserts the local lore. Donkey grows to admire this aspect of Wild Will, imagining herself as immune when she tangles with the Massasauga whom she initially attempted to save from Hermine.
The Massasauga that Donkey wounds with a pencil becomes a significant symbol throughout the novel. In the immediate aftermath of this scuffle, the lead of the pencil remains in her arm as a reminder of the snake, and Donkey interprets this as proof that her blood and the snake’s have intermingled. As the story continues, the snake remains hidden in Rose Cottage, known only to Donkey. Its presence is an important secret and a reminder of the fact that she failed to seek treatment of Hermine soon enough to prevent the loss of her grandmother’s hand. Donkey envisions the snake as her twin sister, which implies that they are two separate halves that together make up a single, unified girl. In this way, Donkey embraces the dangerous and violent aspects of being human, knowing that, as a healer, she has the ability to do harm if she adds the wrong amount of poison to her medicine. The scar left behind by her pencil reminds her that she has partially dominated the snake. At the end of the novel, Donkey deliberately attacks the snake, purposely causing it to bite her in order to spare Rose Moon and Titus. In this way, Donkey, believing herself to be immune to the venom like Wild Will, sacrifices herself for her sister. Furthermore, Donkey’s decision to receive medical treatment for the venom at a hospital is motivated by her desire to ensure that Rose Thorn also complies with medical treatment. In the end, though Titus has the opportunity to destroy the snake a few years later, he allows it to live, suggesting that it is the Massasauga who truly dominates the island.
Hermine’s String of Cowry Shells
The cowry shell is the shell of a mollusk, also sometimes called a sea snail, that lives in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Historically valued by many African cultures, they were used as both adornment and currency. Hermine’s irreverent moniker for them—“cuntshell” (167)— likely references their resemblance to female labia. The people of Whiteheart use the cowry shell as a code for abortion; leaving a cowry shell at Boneset Table is a way to ask Hermine to provide the remedy needed to terminate a pregnancy. The coded nature of the exchange underscores the fact that such a request is taboo. Hermine fulfills these requests just as her grandmother did, also stringing the shells together into a necklace. Hermine frequently reminds Donkey that Baba Rose was buried with her cowry shell necklace, and she demands that Donkey one day do the same for her. Thus, the necklace is a physical representation of the healing gift that both women share and an outward signal that neither woman feels she must apologize for providing abortions. It is a sign of pride and a way to honor the women who were faced with a difficult decision and found strength by making their own choices.
After Hermine loses her hand, Titus urges Donkey to hide any cowry shells that arrive at Boneset Table; he wishes to prevent Hermine from providing additional abortions. Donkey’s acquiescence aligns with her refusal to kill animals or to eat them. However, she honors her grandmother by wearing the necklace while keeping vigil when Hermine is hospitalized after having a heart attack. In this way, Donkey hints that she will carry on the legacy of her grandmother and great-great grandmother.
Mathematics
Although she does not attend school, Donkey becomes interested in math via the books that Prim sends to her. She is drawn to the order and logic of math and its predictable and reliable sets of rules. As Donkey learns mathematic principles, she frequently practices by pointing out applicable scenarios in the real world. This dynamic illustrates that she is constantly searching for patterns in her world, striving to impose a logical order on the events of her life. Math provides her with a counter against the things she cannot control, such as Rose Thorn’s unpredictable arrivals and departures. After Hermine loses her hand and communicates less and less with Donkey, the girl finds herself guessing at Hermine’s feelings and intentions. This uncertainty is unsettling to Donkey, and math provides a respite.
Math, and its reliance on logic and reason, also serves as a counter to the feminine energy of Rose Cottage, for the discipline is traditionally and arbitrarily associated with “masculine” energy in its reliance on reason, which balances out the stereotypical “feminine” energy of emotion and intuition. Mathematical principles run counter to the intuitive approach that Hermine takes when making her medicine, and the unshakable logic of numbers challenges her intuitive approach to inhabiting the dreams of her patients. However, logic and reason help to restore balance to Donkey’s life, creating a connection between the pursuits of the mind and those of the heart and body.
