Erica Hart

Erica is the novel’s protagonist and narrator. She does not significantly develop through the novel, but rather observes other characters’ behavior in a focused perspective. The quality that Samson develops in Erica is her daughterly bond with Charmian. Samson introduces Erica as an elderly woman ruminating on her past, but the genesis of her character arc begins in London when her mother dies. Erica’s father is abusive, and so she has a keen desire to leave London soon after her mother’s death. Even though she has a desire to write, Erica immediately assumes the role of caretaker once she arrives on Hydra.

The progress of the novel does not track Erica’s creative pursuits, but instead depicts her conversations with the island’s inhabitants (primarily Charmian), and her observations of the community’s debauched habits. She becomes disenchanted with that lifestyle soon after arriving...