Introduction
Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach is characterized by memories fueled and triggered by trauma. Lisamarie Hill is the main character who features throughout the novel. She lives in the Haisla community on the Coast of the British Columbian, where she faces many problems in the attempt to discover herself while playing as a crosser border between indigenous and European-Canadian cultures. Jimmy, Lisamarie’s brother, had been missing for questionable reasons or circumstances, and she has to wait for any news of his whereabouts (Pasecho). Lisamarie has supernatural abilities as she can see and communicate with supernatural beings. This also contributes to her identity challenges as she struggled to fit in the magical realm and the physical plane. However, as the book progresses, Lisamarie cannot use her gifts as she does not understand what is happening around her since she has no one to guide her. At this point, the novel takes a dangerous and dark tone as more supernatural beings unfold. This paper is an analysis of how Eden Robinson uses different supernatural elements to develop themes in the novel Monkey Beach.
B’gwus (Sasquatch)
B’gwus is a major concern, and the author uses it to elaborate on the theme of judgment. The Sasquatch or the B’gwus is a wild man living in the woods. In Lisamarie’s description, B’gwus is extremely tall with long and thick hair in his arms, chest, and legs (Castricano 805-815). He is half-wolf and half-human, whose image is used to sell beer. He is described as a guy who is laid back, living in the mountaintops. Robinson uses this creature to explain the Haisla community’s cultural values and the real terror and spiritual powers of society. Jimmy got obsessed with the sasquatch figure from the stories told about him by his father at a very young age. He is so determined to be awarded thirty thousand dollars by the World Weekly Globe for capturing the B’gwus on film. On their family to offer Jimmy the chance of capturing the B’gwus, Lisamarie manages to see him (Habermann). This shows one of Lisamarie’s encounters with one of the supernaturals mentioned in the book. Her encounter with B’gwus contributed greatly to the development of her character.
Ghosts
Although supernatural beings are common in the Canadian culture, Monkey Beach shows that it is being lost. Ghosts have also been mentioned in several instances throughout the novel. Lisamarie’s life portrays the sufferings and deaths of her loved one, which caused traumatic memories. Her experience of being raped a couple of times added to the trauma that she started sleepwalking and seeing ghosts (Castricano 804). When Lisamarie was in Monkey Beach with her brother Jimmy, there are two instances of ghosts. She wakes up in the morning and finds herself on the shores alone.
Lisamarie noticed that there was something that was drifting out in the water. She saw it like a baby dressed in christening attire from afar, but when Lisamarie got closer, it was a bucket. From the two contradicting views, it is clear that there was a ghost in the ocean with the ability to transform into different features. When Lisamarie gets into the ocean, she is held on her ankle and is pulled deeper into the ocean. This indicates there was a ghost that lived under the sea, but Lisamarie was not strong enough to see it. Another prove of ghosts in the Hesla community is the mentioning of the red-haired man who visited Lisamarie. Like other ghosts, the protagonist always experienced a bad thing every time the ghost appeared to her.
Spirits
The Haisla community believed in the existence of spirits who judged and punished sinners. Although Lisamarie seems to be living in the spiritual realm, some instances showed her inability to defeat these spirits. For instance, she is unable to understand the supernatural being in the ocean and later becomes its victim when she is dragged into the ocean unprepared. This incident shows that she was punishable for her sins by these spirits (Habermann 123-128). When Lisamarie’s parents took her to the hospital for medical tests, she feared that she was crazy. However, her grandmother seems to have an understanding of the spirit world. She consoles her by telling her not to be afraid, for they were just ghosts. This confirms that Lisamarie was not the first person in the community to encounter spiritual beings. Like the Gothic in Western Culture, Lisamarie learns to speak with the ghosts through the spirits. The presence of spirits in the Haisla community signifies the indigenous or aboriginal culture which believed in magic.
Lisamarie
Apart from the supernatural beings around Lisamarie’s life, she is half natural and half supernatural. Like the novel’s main character, she is also too powerful, although she does not seem to be aware. Being a woman must have contributed to this since society has continuously reminded women that they don’t have any power (Pasecho 3). First, she can communicate and interact with supernatural beings, unlike other people. Lisamarie’s ability to contact the spirit world is a curse and is seen to be a gift to others. This power might have been inherited by her mother, as Robison states that her mother had suppressed her occult powers. Also, she has a complex and weird connection with the B’gwus, unlike other humans in the novel. For this reason, she can be viewed as a monster chosen and working for the B’gwus. For instance, when her brother hears her scream, he rushes into the woods, hoping to capture the B’gwus. He takes numerous pictures of her sister while shouting, leaving the audience wondering if Lisamarie is the B’gwus he had been waiting to meet for so long.
There are several other instances where her contact with the spiritual realm has proved to be significant. For instance, this ability helped her transform from a young girl to a mature and responsible woman who was helpful to the community. Her supernatural visions and dreams were related to the Haisla culture, which was more of a gift than a curse. Lisamarie can also be viewed as a monster chosen and working for the B’gwus.
Conclusion
The Monkey Beach is characterized by supernatural elements such as spirits and ghosts. Lisamarie acts as a link between the spiritual realm and the physical plane in the Halsa community. Although certain people including her mother have negative feelings about her abilities, others understand her significance in society. However, the novel points out that it is the traumatic life experiences that led to the realization of her powers while she started seeing ghosts. Like the Gothic in Western culture, this Canadian magical realism relates to other postcolonial nations.
Works Cited
Castricano, Jodey. “Learning to Talk with Ghosts: Canadian Gothic and the Poetics of Haunting in Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach.” vol. 75, no. 2, 2016, pp. 801-831.
Habermann, Ina. ‘Drifting Away in The Tide”: Water Symbolism and Indigenous Environmentalism in Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach.’ Trans-Canadiana, volume 8, 2016, pp. 123-144.
Pacheco, Paloma. “After a 20-Year Journey, ‘Monkey Beach’ Hits the Screen with Supernatural Power.” The Tyee, 2020. Web.