Chapter 66: “The Water Nixie” — Summary and Analysis
⚠️ 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
Iris wakes late after a restless night, her feet swollen. Myra arrives with a cleaning woman; Iris hides her scribbled pages in the oven. The chapter then shifts to a memory of Iris and Laura visiting Reenie at her small row-house cottage, shortly after their arrival at Avilion. Reenie shows them her baby (Myra), and Iris later speculates whether Reenie’s child might be fathered by their own father. The summer at Avilion drags: Winifred is bored, Richard works on restoring the Water Nixie boat, and Laura often sits alone on the dock. Winifred mentions that Callista Fitzsimmons was arrested but bailed out by Richard. Iris finds Laura in the attic, hiding family heirlooms from Richard and Winifred. Laura also retrieves their old school exercise books, which they once used to hide Alex Thomas. Later, Laura goes sailing alone with Richard on the repaired Water Nixie; after that trip, the tension reverses—Richard now avoids Laura, as if afraid of her.
Key Events
- Myra wakes Iris and brings a cleaning woman; Iris stashes her writing in the oven.
- Flashback: Iris and Laura visit Reenie in her new home; Reenie shows them her baby, Myra.
- Iris privately speculates that Reenie’s baby might be her half-sibling, fathered by their father.
- Summer at Avilion: Richard oversees repairs on the Water Nixie; Winifred swims and takes notes on the house’s decay.
- At lunch, Richard comments on the Spanish Civil War, saying war will make money for some.
- Winifred reveals that Callista was arrested at a “pinko party” and Richard bailed her out.
- Iris finds Laura in the attic, where Laura is hiding silver, china, and other objects to save them from Richard and Winifred.
- Laura retrieves the old exercise books used to hide Alex Thomas; she asks if Iris still has her picture of him.
- The next day, Laura and Richard sail away on the Water Nixie while Iris watches.
- Back in Toronto, Richard becomes uneasy around Laura, leaving rooms when she enters.
- Laura insists she said nothing to Richard during the boat trip.
Character Development
- Iris grows more aware of her powerlessness at Avilion. She feels “hemmed in” and “locked up,” yet she also begins to resist passively—hiding her pages and later joining Laura in the attic. Her curiosity about Reenie’s baby shows a darker willingness to question family myths.
- Laura becomes more secretive and purposeful. She takes concrete action to preserve family objects, not just through nostalgia but by physically hiding them. Her detachment from Richard deepens into something that makes him afraid, hinting at a confrontation we haven’t witnessed.
- Richard reveals his callousness in the war conversation and his transactional view of relationships (bailing out Callista as a “favour”). The thinning spot on his head suggests vulnerability, contradicting his usual control. After the boat trip, he avoids Laura, suggesting she said or did something that unsettled him.
- Winifred remains the sharp, controlling presence—bored by Avilion, dismissive of Callista, and subtly undermining Iris. Her jealousy or unease about the boat ride hints at cracks in her alliance with Richard.
- Reenie has moved into a life of modest domesticity but still feels distant from the girls. Her defiance when holding the baby marks a quiet break from her former role as servant.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Memory and Storytelling: Iris’s hidden pages and the recovered exercise books show how written records preserve buried truths. The attic functions as a storehouse of memory—both literal heirlooms and the school books that contain the girls’ past.
- Class and Power: The widening gap between Reenie’s narrow kitchen and Avilion’s decaying grandeur underscores class lines. Richard and Winifred’s planned “clean sweep” threatens to erase the family’s history, while Laura’s hiding of objects is a small rebellion.
- Water and the Unconscious: The Water Nixie boat—named after a mythical water spirit—represents both escape and danger. Laura’s habit of staring into the dark water suggests she is searching for something lost, possibly hope. Richard’s desire to “get the thing floated” may reflect his need to control what lies beneath.
- Ambiguous Morality: Iris notes the “sliding moral scale” of Richard and Winifred. The theme recurs in Richard’s war profiteering, his bail-out of Callista (for pragmatic reasons), and Iris’s own evasion about believing Laura’s story of Mr. Erskine.
- Sisterhood and Secrets: Laura and Iris share the secret of hiding Alex Thomas, but Laura’s ongoing fixation on him creates a gulf between them. Iris’s speculation about Myra’s paternity introduces another layer of hidden family history.
Why This Chapter Matters
“The Water Nixie” deepens the novel’s exploration of memory, class, and silent resistance. It shows Laura moving from passive grief to active preservation, while Iris begins to question the stories she has accepted. The boat trip with Richard becomes a turning point: afterward, Richard’s fear of Laura suggests that she has gained knowledge—or power—that threatens him. The chapter also introduces the possibility that Myra (Iris’s present-day companion) might be Iris’s half-sister, adding a new dimension to their fraught relationship. Moreover, the attic scene with the exercise books directly connects to the central mystery of Alex Thomas, keeping his unresolved story alive.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Iris hide her scribbled pages in the oven when Myra arrives? Iris fears that Myra or the cleaning woman will discover her private writings. The oven is one place she is certain they won’t look because she never bakes. This small act of concealment mirrors how she hides her true thoughts from those around her, especially from Myra’s intrusive caregiving.
2. What might Laura’s silence on the boat ride with Richard signify? Laura insists she “never say[s] anything” to Richard, meaning she did not converse. Her silence could be a form of passive resistance, refusing to engage with a man she dislikes. Alternatively, it may indicate that something nonverbal happened—a look, a gesture—that made Richard feel exposed or guilty. The chapter leaves the encounter ambiguous, inviting readers to speculate about Laura’s hidden power.
3. How does the attic function as a symbol in this chapter? The attic is a physical and metaphorical space for preserving what Richard and Winifred would discard. Laura gathers “worthless junk” (silver, china, spoons) and hides it in trunks, saving fragments of family history. The old exercise books are also stored there, linking the attic to the hidden story of Alex Thomas. It becomes a refuge for memory against the “clean sweep” of modernization and erasure.