Dec 16, 2009

Fleur | Fleur

At a glance:

Author: Louise Erdrich
First Published: 1986
Type of Plot: Sketch
Time of Work: 1920
Setting: Argus, North Dakota
Principal Characters: Fleur Pillager, Pauline, Pete Kozka, Lily Veddar, Dutch James, Tor Grunewald
Genres: Short fiction, Sketch
Subjects: Memory, Mythology or myths, Gender roles, Midwest, 1920’s, Pregnancy, Rape, Native Americans or American Indians, Death or dying, Revenge, Butchers
Locales: Argus, ND (fictive)

The Story

Pauline recalls an earlier time when a young Chippewa woman named Fleur survived a drowning. Pauline also remembers about Fleur's association with Misshepeshu, the devil-like waterman monster of Chippewa myth. Pauline calls Fleur a woman who “messed with evil,” who laughed at the women of the tribe, wore men's clothing, and hunted. Fleur was feared and mistrusted by her tribe.

In 1920 Fleur lived in Argus, a small town in North Dakota, where she worked at Pete Kozka's butcher shop—a place that was part slaughterhouse and part store. Kozka hired her...

[The entire page is 1339 words long]

Fleur | Fleur

At a glance:

The Story

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