Omeros

The battle between France and Britain includes the Marlborough, a British ship. Onboard is Midshipman Plunkett, who has been ordered below decks by the admiral. He feels the ship turning hard and fears that a crash is imminent. As the Marlborough pulls alongside Ville de Paris (a French ship), Plunkett hears a “dying groan” as the colliding ships destroy one another (85). Holding onto his sword, Plunkett tries to climb up onto the decks as water gushes in. He is later found “face downwards” (86), drowned below decks. From the Ville de Paris, a wine bottle sinks into the water. It will later be recovered and placed in the Saint Lucia museum.

In the modern day, Dennis Plunkett researches his family tree. Many of his ancestors were in famous battles, such as the Battle of the Somme in World War I. With the aid of a paid researcher, he adds more branches to the family tree and even draws up a coat of arms. However, he has “no heir” (87). While Dennis is working on his family tree, Maud embroiders. She is creating an “immense” quilt with embroidered images of many different types of birds. Though Dennis admires his wife’s needlework, he is saddened to think of the quilt as her shroud. He returns to his task of accurately mapping old battle lines. He wishes that he could travel to the sites of the British Empire’s most famous battles on a “masochistic odyssey” (90), but Maud reminds him that he cannot afford to do so. Without no son, Dennis settles for being an armchair admiral in his old age.

Dennis develops a detailed knowledge of the Battle of the Saints. He travels across Saint Lucia, visiting parts of the island that are important to the battle. At Fort Rodney, for example, he sees every “blunder” in the pamphlet. During one trip, he argues with an iguana that he accuses of trying to claim the island. During his outburst, he calls the island Iounalo, its Indigenous name, comparing the island’s Indigenous history to that of its colonizers. He realizes that the battle was fought neither for the iguana nor for the people of Saint Lucia. This leads him to the uncomfortable idea that the British Empire may be remembered as the “villains” of history. Continuing his exploration and his research, he comes across the name Plunkett in one of the records, and his veins turn “cold.” He feels as though he has found “a namesake and a son” (94), but he is upset that the midshipman died so young. He decides to keep this from Maud.

Continuing his research into the battle, Dennis uncovers the “net of myths, knotted entanglements” (95), in which he sees various Helens. Helen is the center of the web of his research. He makes many allusions to Homer’s poems, believing that his literary heart has allowed him to find these connections. Once, he happened on Helen trying on Maud’s bracelet. He ignored the incident, allowing Helen “victory.” He feels sexually attracted to Helen, imagining the bracelet speaking to him, urging him to act on his desire. Dennis resists this “lust”; he wants to help unfortunate people, rather than exploit them. The talking bracelet mocks him as making “the vows of empire” (97). He is just another imperialist, no matter how he thinks of himself. Dennis cannot help but feel Helen’s presence in his home. One day, on a visit to a French cemetery now covered with a garbage heap, he believes that this also belongs to Helen. In the garbage, he uncovers two regimental buttons.

Excited by his historical research, Dennis makes Maud read about the Battle of the Saints so that she can understand the “Homeric coincidence” that he sees in the history of Saint Lucia (100). The thought of the young midshipman, however, continues to haunt him, prompting him to wonder about the late Plunkett’s experiences on the island. Dennis compares Midshipman Plunkett to Tumbly and Scott, the soldiers from Dennis’s squad who died during the war. He wonders what kind of glory or duty caused them to sacrifice their lives.

The Plunketts’ house is built on the site of the old barracks. Dennis imagines the recruits of the past, his fantasy mixing with his experience of life in the military when he trained cadets. While reading maps, Dennis realizes that a chasm is growing between him and Maud. He feels “historic regret” for the “deep humiliation” of the island but is satisfied that his own responsibility or debt has been paid by the death of the midshipman (103). World War II is nostalgically seen as a war with a worthy cause, but Britain’s imperial past is something that happened elsewhere. He remembers a history teacher with fascist beliefs from his school days; the teacher awarded him a prize for a history essay.

Maljo (also known as Statics) decides to launch a political campaign. He hires Philoctete and Hector to help him, so Hector drives them around the island in a van called the Comet to speak to the public. Statics presents himself as a spokesman for the poor and disenfranchised. He is a fisherman and sometime mechanic who speaks “mixed Yankee and patois” (105). As Statics campaigns, he sounds more and more like a politician. He hands out candies and pamphlets. Then, “power [goes] to Statics’s head” (106), and he becomes arrogant while campaigning against outside forces immiserating the islanders. Watching the campaign, Philoctete is struck that people seem incapable of loving the island in the simple way that he does. As the campaign draws to a close, Statics and Philoctete organize a “blocko” (108), or party to rally support. The blocko is ruined by the rain, however, and Statics abandons his political aspirations. He travels to Florida as a “migrant-worker” (109).

Every Friday night, the people of the island relax and have fun. Helen loves the music and dancing, but Achille resents how the entertainment threatens the traditions of Saint Lucia and dislikes that Helen dresses up to have fun. For Achille, the island is transforming into something worse. It is “dying” and losing its connection with the sea.

Dennis is still thinking about his family history and broader national history. He feels as though life was easier in the past. When he steps outside, he looks at the stars and hears the Friday-night music. He cannot make out the constellations in the sky, so he makes his own versions.

Achille and Helen argue. He accuses her of cheating on him with Hector. He does not understand what Helen wants from him. Suddenly, however, his anger vanishes; he sees that Helen simply wants a “peace beyond her beauty” (115). She should not be blamed for the difficulties her beauty brings. They lie in bed, though Achille’s anger festers inside him.

Helen leaves Achille for Hector. Even after she moves in with Hector, Achille clings to the idea that she will come back to him. He feels a “rotting loneliness” and keeps to himself rather than be reminded of Helen and Hector (116). Meanwhile, Hector has sold his canoe to buy a van that he nicknames the Comet. The Comet has leopard skin seats and a small statue of the Virgin Mary. It allows Hector to leave his job as a fisherman, which he does because he suspects that Helen is still in love with Achille. However, his taxi business is not as profitable as he had hoped. Saint Lucia’s independence from the British Empire does not bring the economic improvement that many people hoped for. For Dennis, however, there is a big difference: In an independent Saint Lucia, he feels like an outsider even though he has “come to love” the island (120).

The traditional lunch hour—the Angelus—is marked by the ringing of church bells. During this time, the town becomes “paralyzed” (120). At the Plunkett house, Maud rests. She stares outside and notes the colors of the plants. To her, they seem autumnal and put her in a morbid mood. This is the drought season, when it is very hot. As she watches the boats on the sea, Maud sees Helen climbing the road to the house. Remembering past encounters with Helen and her rudeness, Maud watches scathingly as Helen plucks one of her flowers. When Helen approaches, Maud tells her that there is no more work. Helen does not want work; she wants $5 since she is pregnant. Helen is “vexed” with both Hector and Maud. In spite of her resentment, Maud pities Helen and fetches some money for her.

Achille accepts that Helen is “never coming back” (125). While on his boat, he glimpses a sea swift flying over the water. He sees this as a symbol of Helen leaving him. Sailing with his mate, Achille admires the ocean and appreciates what it means to be a fisherman. When he sees the swift again, he feels as though the bird is pulling the boat further out to sea. Achille decides that the bird is a messenger from the gods. He panics, but his boat continues to follow the swift. Achille and his boat travel farther and farther from Saint Lucia. Only Achille can see the bird. He thinks of the dead people at the bottom of the ocean, including enslaved people and those who died in battles such as Midshipman Plunkett. The sun becomes hotter, so Achille wants to wet the sail so that it will not tear. When he bundles up the sail to throw it into the ocean, it looks like a body wrapped in a shroud. Achille panics. He hears a shrieking gull and feels the same “tribal sorrow” that afflicts Philoctete (129). Achille does not realize that he has been made delirious by the heat. The bundled-up sail in the water looks like his father’s ghost, prompting Achille to think about his identity. The sea swift, Achille now believes, is a messenger from another world coming to bring him “home.”