In English, “Adagio espressivo” means “slowly but expressively.” The title prefigures the section’s prominent themes of slow healing and discovering and expressing one’s true artistic voice.

Abraham’s death marks a turning point in the novel. In a bildungsroman, a parent’s death serves as a reminder for the protagonist to grow up. Abraham’s demise makes his youngest sons, especially Gabriel, understand that the mantle of responsibility has fallen on them. Significantly, Abraham’s death occurs soon after that of William William, leaving Jeremiah and Gabriel the only two surviving men of the Okimasis clan.

Varying across tribes, the story of Ayash (or Iyash) recounts how Ayash’s father (also named Ayash) exiles his son, who has been unfairly accused of violating his stepmother, to an island. Ayash is rescued from the island by either a water snake/sea-serpent or a Fox-Woman, both of which may be manifestations of Ayash’s grandmother. The serpent/Fox-Woman grants Ayash many boons so he can fight enemies and journey back home. Ayash encounters many cannibalistic monsters, all of whom he returns to their human forms using his new powers. His adventures complete, Ayash returns home and reconciles with his mother and his father. Kiss of the Fur Queen can be read as a retelling of the Ayash legend, with Gabriel and Jeremiah both representing Ayash, Father Lafleur and the forces of colonization representing the cannibals/Weetigo, and the Fur Queen symbolizing the guardian water snake/Fox-Woman. Jeremiah and Gabriel must vanquish their Weetigos and reconcile.

Further connecting Jeremiah and Gabriel to the legend of Ayash, a foul-mouthed, glamorous Fox-Woman appears to a drunk Jeremiah in Chapter 36. Just as the guardian spirit granted Ayash powers, the Fox-Woman gives Jeremiah the gift of plainspoken truth and clarity. All of life is a show, and the best Jeremiah can do is stop feeling sorry for himself and start performing. Thus, she plants the seed of the theatre and playwriting in Jeremiah’s consciousness while divesting him of any Christian guilt about the appropriateness of music. The line that the Fox-Woman who now goes by Maggie was once “Fred” is a nod to her inhabiting both genders.

Mentions of fireweed crop up again in this section, demonstrating the centrality of plants and animals in Cree consciousness. The fireweed carries its own mythic importance in the world of the text. The beautiful pink flower grows well on burnt soil, indicating Jeremiah and Gabriel’s resilience in the face of their trauma. Sometimes associated with phallic and clitoral imagery, the fireweed also symbolizes Gabriel’s sexual awakening. Spruce and pine trees, which the text references often, represent the wild freshness of Northern Manitoba, while reindeer moss (also known as caribou moss) symbolizes the sparse, hardy beauty of the subarctic tundra. Foxes (especially arctic foxes) also appear frequently in the text—in this section the Fox-Woman is an arctic fox with ice blue eyes—and represent the Trickster. In many Indigenous tales, the fox is a companion to the Trickster coyote spirit.