The Elements: A Novel

Vanessa Carvin is the protagonist and narrator of the collection’s first novella, Water, and the wife of pedophile Brendan Carvin. After her daughter Emma’s death and her husband’s conviction, Vanessa spends most of her time debating what she could have done differently to protect Emma and her husband’s other victims. She exemplifies the theme of Resistance to Taking Responsibility. Though she never witnessed Brendan’s sexual abuse, she had multiple warnings, which she chose to ignore. She admits she was too preoccupied with social status and protecting her family’s image. In doing so, she realizes that she lost her values and individuality.

Vanessa is a dynamic character who changes by rediscovering herself and asserting her independence. She isolates herself on the island to have the space to reconsider her life and even changes her name. When her daughter, Rebecca, reveals that she also changed her name, Vanessa feels as though they can finally move forward: “I feel a flood of love wash over me […] It is wonderful. It is right. We are no longer Carvins, either of us. We are no longer his” (112). In taking this step, they refuse to be defined by Brendan and what he did to Emma and the other girls.