How Does Fleur's Story Illustrate The Complex Nature Of Survivance?

Discuss Fleur's character arc and how it is a representation of survivance. How does Fleur's story illustrate the complex nature of survivance?

In Four Souls, Fleur is described as a survivor. In the face of overwhelming genocide, she managed to survive (Reid 69). Fleur is later hired by Mauser’s sister in law Polly Elizabeth to do the laundry for their mansion which is described as made from the lumber of trees felled on her native land. However, despite the suffering of her people by Mauser, Fleur shows her resolve and plans on killing him as revenge for the crimes he committed against her people. Mauser is in poor health when Fleur arrives and she doesn’t want to kill him without him being conscious of it so she nurses him back to health.

While Polly Elizabeth didn’t have much respect for Fleur in the beginning of the novel, when Fleur becomes pregnant they begin to treat one another with mutual respect.

One thing that critics say about this novel is that it contextualizes the deep sense of loss that happens during allotment. How does allotment figure throughout the book? How do different characters illustrate why allotment is so detrimental to tribal peoples?

In Four Souls, the author talks about land allotment throughout the book and uses different characters to show why it was so detrimental to tribal people. In Four Souls, the land was used to make Mauser wealthy, and the loss of this land resulted in the native people being alienated (Fitzgerald 48). For instance, when a tribe lost their land, they were said to have lost their tribal identity, but Fleur sought vengeance for this outrage.

The author describes the loss of land to the indigenous and tribal people as a travesty. Fleur’s loss of her ancestral land is what drives her on with her vengeance, and shows the effect of the allotment system and the detriment it had on native people and their