In these chapters, Lucy’s narrative is put on hold and Jess and Mary have interwoven storylines, bringing to light the parallels in their narratives and further emphasizing the ways all three of the female protagonists are connected, highlighting The Pull of Familial Relationships. The process of physical transformation continues for both Jess and Mary, but the nature of it is confirmed and somewhat explained by Jess’s experience in the opening chapter of Part 3, which flashes back to Jess in the 1999 timeline. This time, however, her experience is not written from the first-person perspective and conveyed through the diary but instead told from a close third-person point of view, as are the other chapters with Mary and Lucy. With this strategy, Hart gives immediacy to the dramatic action, unfiltered by the device of a frame story, and serves as a stylistic means of linking their individual narratives.

In that same chapter, young Jess is the first to discover what really happens when water touches her skin: Her human flesh peels away to reveal scales beneath. She now understands her compulsion to be near water, as it brings out what feels like her truer and more beautiful self, developing the theme of Discovering and Expressing Oneself. This compulsion is heightened by her wish to give birth near her own birthplace, as her dreams of the sea cave have made her believe this is a nurturing and protective place for her. With Jess’s realization, Hart again aligns the novel with The Odyssey; as the wish to return home drives Odysseus through all his adventures, so Jess’s choice resonates with that same pull toward her origins.

In returning to Cliff House and following the sound of singing to the cave below—her own version of being lured by the sirens—Jess is participating in the ritual that Mary dreams of when she drinks the rum. She is also replicating the experience of the woman giving birth in the Prologue, although Hart implies that the woman in the Prologue is not Jess. The imagery surrounding the sea, and especially the cave, is no longer threatening but inviting, soothing, and maternal. The cave is a place that shelters women, and women finding these safe spaces is another powerful theme of this section. Jess chose to buy Cliff House partly from a wish to return to her roots but also because she is searching for a place where she feels safe.

The theme of Female Connections as Protective Influence strengthens through Mary’s changing perception of the community that the convict women of the Naiad have formed during their long journey. They no longer taunt or quarrel with one another. Mary’s song served to unite them, defying the torturous conditions of their imprisonment in the creation of beauty. Next, they work together to follow Bridie’s suggestion that, since they are being given barely any food or water, they can drink the captain’s rum. Finally, when the captain’s punishment leads to Aoife’s death, the women work together to mourn her with the prayers and rituals of their own Irish culture, not the Protestant traditions enforced on them by the English. Through their collaboration and support of each other, the women find true community, safety, and even agency. In the present, seeking protection in female company, specifically Jess’s, is the reason Lucy comes to Cliff House, and while there, Melody’s befriending both Jess and Lucy also speaks to the power of female community and connection.

Aoife’s confession and her death are shocking to Mary not only because she is not accustomed to physical violence, but also because torturing Aoife seems excessively cruel to her. Twice, at the hands of the law, Aoife has been punished for trying to protect herself. She murdered the husband who physically abused her to keep him from killing her and was sentenced to transportation to New South Wales because of it. This parallels the cruelty of the sentence against Mary and Eliza; they are being punished because Eliza protected Mary from being assaulted by Byrne. The women drank the rum to try to stay alive; the captain denied them sufficient rations of food and water. Aoife sacrifices herself to protect the rest of them, particularly Bridie, whom she previously derided. The novel makes clear that building a sense of community and doing what they can to protect one another are the only recourse these women have against the more powerful and destructive men who have no interest in their lives or well-being.