Our Wives Under the Sea: Questions and Answers
This page offers fifteen evidence-grounded questions and answers about Julia Armfield's Our Wives Under the Sea, covering character decisions, symbolism, and the novel's central tensions. Each answer is grounded in the text's chapters and events, with links to character and theme pages for further exploration.
1. Why does Leah refuse to surface when power returns?
Leah chooses to stay below to see what they came down to find, overriding Matteo's warning. This decision reflects her deep-seated need for meaning and her lifelong fascination with the deep, even at the cost of safety. In chapter 37, power returns and Matteo urges surfacing, but Leah insists on seeing the mission's purpose, referencing his ice-fishing story. This choice underscores her commitment to the unknown and foreshadows the encounter with the creature. It also connects to her childhood reading about the Challenger Deep, where the ocean was something to be navigated, not conquered.
2. How does Miri's reaction to Leah's physical transformation evolve?
Miri moves from terror to caregiving to a resigned acceptance of Leah's aquatic nature. Initially she tries to treat Leah's bleeding and skin changes, later she accommodates her need for saltwater baths, and finally she helps her dissolve into the sea. In chapter 4, Miri is frightened by Leah's bleeding; in chapter 22, she eases Leah into the bath; in chapter 36, she prepares salt-soaked towels and calls Juna. This arc mirrors the theme of ambiguous grief and the limits of care.
3. What role does the smell of meat play in the narrative?
The recurring smell of burning or cooked meat signals the crew's deteriorating perception and the presence of an external force. It first appears before contact is lost, then returns as Jelka and Leah hear voices, and finally accompanies the creature's approach. In chapter 3, Jelka and Leah smell meat; in chapter 19, Jelka asks about burning meat; in chapter 33, Leah hears the voice within the sound. The smell acts as a harbinger of transformation and the breakdown of normal sensory experience, linking to the theme of oceanic transformation.
4. How does the novel use the octopus as a symbol?
The octopus represents both the allure and danger of the deep, as well as the possibility of transformation. Leah's childhood connection to Pamela the octopus recurs in dreams and memories, and the final creature resembles an octopus. In chapter 12, Miri recalls Leah's job at an aquarium with an octopus named Pamela; in chapter 29, Leah dreams of Pamela; in chapter 39, the vast creature rises from the chasm. The octopus embodies the novel's themes of oceanic transformation and the unknown, and its strength—capable of breaking bones yet choosing not to—mirrors Leah's own experience.
5. Why does Miri avoid telling Carmen about Leah's condition?
Miri's reticence stems from a combination of shame, fear of not being believed, and a desire to protect Leah's privacy. She repeatedly withholds details, even when Carmen directly asks. In chapter 6, Miri meets Carmen but doesn't share; in chapter 10, she tells Carmen she's tired; in chapter 34, Carmen confronts her about never telling her anything was wrong. This silence highlights the failure of communication and support systems, a central theme that isolates Miri during her caregiving ordeal.
6. What is the significance of the Saint Brendan figurine?
The figurine represents faith, quest, and the ambiguity of divine intervention. Jelka's devotion to Saint Brendan, who sailed the Atlantic, mirrors the crew's own voyage and their search for meaning. In chapter 17, Jelka places the figurine and explains praying with saints; in chapter 29, it appears in strange places; in chapter 33, Leah recalls the saint's legend. The figurine becomes a talisman of hope and a reminder of the ocean's role as both refuge and punishment, echoing the epigraph's warning about the impossibility of return.
7. How does the novel contrast the moon and the ocean?
The ocean erases traces while the moon preserves them, highlighting the deep sea's unknowability and the futility of human attempts to leave a mark. Leah notes that more people have been to the moon than dived beyond six thousand meters. In chapter 3, Leah reflects on this contrast; in chapter 8, Miri recalls Leah's theory about the Pacific's granite floor forming the moon. This contrast underscores the limits of knowledge and the ocean's capacity to absorb and transform, setting the stage for Leah's own dissolution.
8. Why does Miri measure Leah again?
Miri measures Leah to try to quantify her changes, but she has lost the original measurements, so the act yields no comparison. This reflects her inability to track Leah's transformation and her own unreliable memory. In chapter 20, Miri measures Leah's wrists, throat, and forehead, but cannot tell if she is smaller or different. The scene emphasizes the erosion of memory and identity, as well as the futility of trying to hold onto a past version of a person.
9. What does the recurring sound and voice represent?
The sound—a creaking, pulsing noise—evolves into a voice that only Jelka hears initially, then Leah later. It symbolizes the deep's hidden presence and the crew's psychological unraveling. In chapter 21, the noise starts; in chapter 29, Jelka hears a voice; in chapter 33, Leah hears it too. The voice blurs the line between external threat and internal hallucination, reflecting the theme of ambiguous grief and the limits of perception, and ultimately leads to Jelka's escape and death.
10. How does Miri's relationship with her mother's death parallel Leah's transformation?
Miri's unresolved grief over her mother's illness and death mirrors her inability to process Leah's change. She avoids genetic testing and recalls her mother's decline, just as she avoids confronting Leah's condition. In chapter 8, Miri recalls her mother's illness; in chapter 12, she remembers the funeral; in chapter 28, she reflects on avoiding a test; in chapter 34, she recalls packing up her mother's house. This parallel deepens the theme of anticipatory grief and the fear of loss, making Miri's final act of letting go all the more poignant.
11. Why does Leah write her name in the logbook and press it against the window?
Leah offers her name to the creature as a form of acknowledgment and surrender, perhaps hoping to be seen or understood. This act is both a defiance and an acceptance of her fate. In chapter 39, Leah writes her name and presses the logbook against the window as the creature's eye fills the view. This gesture signifies a final attempt at communication and identity in the face of the unknown, and it connects to the novel's exploration of the limits of knowledge and the desire for connection.
12. How does the novel use the concept of "sunken thoughts"?
"Sunken thoughts" refers to Leah's quiet spells, which Miri used to tap on her skull to bring back. Later, Leah struggles to recall the phrase's origin, indicating her memory loss. In chapter 3, Miri calls them sunken thoughts; in chapter 25, Leah remembers the phrase but not who said it. The term becomes a metaphor for the deep, inaccessible parts of the mind and the erosion of shared history, reinforcing the theme of erosion of memory and identity.
13. What is the significance of the escape trunk and Jelka's exit?
Jelka's escape through the trunk leads to her death, as the trunk floods and opens to the sea. This act is both a desperate flight from the voice and a surrender to the ocean. In chapter 31, Jelka goes through the hatch; in chapter 33, Matteo descends alone; in chapter 40, Juna reveals Jelka's body was expelled. The trunk represents a threshold between the craft and the deep, and Jelka's choice underscores the theme of escape and transformation, as well as the crew's breakdown.
14. How does the novel's ending connect to its epigraphs?
The epigraphs warn of the sea's treachery and the impossibility of return, which the ending fulfills as Leah dissolves into the water and the creature's eye holds an anticipatory expression. The Moby-Dick epigraph warns "thou canst never return"; the Jaws epigraph defines drowning. In chapter 40, Miri releases Leah into the sea; in chapter 41, Leah and Matteo surface but Leah is changed. The ending reinforces the idea that the ocean claims those who venture too far, and that transformation is irreversible, as seen in the ending explained page.
15. Why does Miri finally call Juna for help?
Miri reaches her limit when Leah's breathing deteriorates and she cannot keep her in the bath. She calls Juna, who brings a car and supplies, leading to the journey to the sea. In chapter 36, Miri calls Juna after Leah's condition worsens; in chapter 38, Juna arrives and they drive to Miri's mother's house. This decision marks Miri's acceptance of outside help and the beginning of the novel's resolution, as she ultimately lets Leah go, embodying the theme of ambiguous grief and the necessity of relinquishment.