Discussion question 3- SPOILER ALERT

[Kristin]

While Rill sees her life on the Arcadia through the idyllic eyes of childhood, May in her old age seems to acknowledge that she wouldn’t have traded the life she lived for a different one. Do you think she wonders whether Queenie and Briny’s unconventional existence on the Arcadia could would have been sustainable as times changed or more children were added to the family? Were Queenie and Briny responsible or careless in their choices?

[Kristin]

This is a tough one. I suppose it is entirely dependent on what situation you were in. If she never experienced any other lifestyle, it probably would have been more 'normal' to her to live on the river. They would have known how to live this way to survive. As time went on, I don't think it would have been practical for the next generations, and certainly not now. But as an adult, who ended up in a very different situation, she probably realized how fortunate she was, considering the alternative (and even though the beginning of her new life was so tragic).

I think Queenie and Briny were probably doing the best that they could given their circumstances and the time period. Irresponsible to an extent, but when left with no other options other that to leave their children alone, or die in childbirth, what could they have done? As far as signing their kids over, whether it was because they were tricked or because they were naive, I think that was pretty irresponsible. But, they were not aware of what was happening. Were they even able to read what they were being asked to sign? I'm sure it seemed complex and they were being told it said one thing, when it said something else. I think it is a series of extremely unfortunate events that ultimately led to a horrific outcome for their whole family.

[Cassandra]

Wasn't it 1939? So the great depression was already happening and the world war was what ended it, right? So I would say that they would have already survived the worst of it. Plus Rill was probably almost at the age where she could work if they needed and soon after Camellia too, and women worked a lot more during the wars anyway. I have no concept of when people stopped living on the river... or did they ever stop? As a Canadian, that lifestyle is totally foreign to me, but I know squatters still exist in the forests so why not riverboats?