Isola Chapter 18 – The Secret Meetings Begin
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
Marguerite recognizes a change within herself: though still subject to her guardian, she is secretly redirecting her course. She longs to speak again with the secretary after hearing his story, but for several days she cannot slip away because Damienne is ill and the ship is becalmed. Tensions rise as the crew bickers and Roberval orders floggings. During an evening when the secretary plays the cittern, Roberval quizzes Marguerite about the music and then accuses her of flattery, quoting psalms about double hearts. That night Marguerite disobeys Damienne’s warning and climbs to the deck, where the secretary finds her. They share a first meeting—touching, whispering, and learning each other’s names: Marguerite and Auguste Dupré. Despite knowing Roberval would kill them if caught, they continue meeting nightly in secret.
Key Events
- The ship loses wind and stalls under the summer heat; Roberval has three drunken sailors flogged and then kicks them while they lie bleeding.
- Roberval argues with navigator Jean Alfonse about the delayed arrival; the navigator refuses to appease him.
- During a musical performance, Roberval interrogates Marguerite about the secretary’s playing, then tests her on scripture concerning flatterers and double hearts.
- Marguerite, feeling “a double heart” of her own, decides she must go to the deck even though Damienne warns her about the secretary.
- She slips out at night; the secretary finds her on the forecastle, and they embrace, touch, and whisper for the first time.
- Over successive nights they meet secretly, exchanging names and personal histories; Marguerite learns his name is Auguste Dupré and that Roberval has threatened to kill him if they are discovered.
Character Development
- Marguerite (the narrator): She acknowledges an internal shift that is neither rebellion nor madness but a rational choice to seek connection. Her curiosity and desire overcome the warnings of Damienne and the moral lessons she was taught. She becomes bolder, initiating contact and lying to Damienne about being restless for air.
- Auguste Dupré (the secretary): Revealed as a man of humble origins who was elevated by Roberval’s generosity. He is gentle, cautious, yet willing to risk his life for Marguerite. He admits that Roberval has already threatened to kill him, showing that he knows the danger and accepts it.
- Damienne: Acts as a protective voice, trying to keep Marguerite safe by warning her that every man aboard belongs to Roberval and that the guardian will punish anyone who crosses him. Her loyalty is stressed but she cannot stop Marguerite.
- Roberval: Remains a volatile, controlling figure. He uses physical violence against the crew, intimidates the navigator, and psychologically manipulates Marguerite by testing her obedience and knowledge of scripture. His jealousy of the secretary is explicit.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Double hearts and hidden lives: The psalmist’s phrase “double heart” frames Marguerite’s deception. She outwardly obeys her guardian while inwardly yearning for the secretary. This motif of divided loyalty runs through the chapter.
- Music as communication and power: The cittern performance becomes a scene of tense interrogation. Roberval uses music to probe Marguerite’s feelings, while the secretary’s playing later becomes a private memory that draws her to him.
- Surveillance and secrecy: Roberval watches everyone; Damienne watches Marguerite; the navigator observes the lovers. Yet the darkness of the deck and the noise of the waves create a fragile sanctuary where secrets can be exchanged.
- Risk and desire: Both Marguerite and Auguste knowingly choose danger over separation. Auguste’s argument that their lives are already risked by the voyage justifies their defiance.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 18 marks a turning point in Marguerite’s agency. She stops merely enduring Roberval’s control and actively seeks a private life of her own. The secret meetings with Auguste establish a romantic and emotional bond that will have profound consequences. The chapter also deepens the portrait of Roberval as a dangerously possessive master, and it shows Damienne’s limited power to protect Marguerite. The theme of double hearts—outward compliance versus inner truth—becomes central to the rest of the story.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Marguerite insist that her change is “not rebellion, nor was it madness”? What does she believe is motivating her? Marguerite frames her shift as rational and remembers her lessons about sin, but she realizes those lessons were designed for land, not for a voyage. She believes she is acting out of a genuine longing to connect with the secretary, driven by curiosity and a desire for experience that her education never addressed. By rejecting the labels of rebellion or madness, she claims ownership of her choice.
2. How does Roberval’s treatment of the crew and of Marguerite in this chapter reinforce the theme of absolute control? Roberval orders flogging for drunken sailors and then physically kicks the bleeding men, showing his brutality. He also verbally intimidates Jean Alfonse and tests Marguerite’s obedience with scripture, demanding she recite the fate of flatterers. His need to dominate every person on the ship—crew, navigator, secretary, and ward—illustrates his tyrannical nature.
3. What does Auguste mean when he says Roberval “has risked our lives already”? How does this justify their meetings? Auguste points out that the voyage itself is full of mortal dangers—storms, wilderness, starvation. If their lives are already in constant peril, then the added risk of being caught together seems less overwhelming. This reasoning allows them to choose the present moment and the connection they share rather than living in fear of Roberval’s wrath.