Not So Happy Ending

Expanding off of the conversation in class about if Four Souls had a happy ending or not, I believe that for Fleur, the outcome was not happy. In the end, Fleur made herself very unhappy in order to get what she wanted, her land. In the second to last chapter Margaret states, “All the cruelty that lay in your heart toward those who wronged you, all the devotion to the land and to your stubborn idea comes to nothing before one truth—your first child does not love you and your second child doesn’t know you.” In this statement, Margaret is telling Fleur how all of the energy that she has chosen to put towards revenge and anger has negatively affected her children. Fleur neglected her children in the process of seeking revenge. The question that arises from Margaret’s quote is, was it worth it in the end? Yes, Fleur got her land in the end but in the process she relationships with some of the closest people to her.
I also feel that if the process of attaining her land was so negative then there is no way for Fleur’s land to have some sort of negative attachment to it. In the final chapter of Four Souls Nanapush says that Fleur “lives quiet in the woods. No road leads to her place. Hardly even a path.” The lack of road or path to Fleur’s land signifies how she is alone. I also think that this quote gives off a sense of no hope for happiness for Fleur. She might live quietly, but no one can reach her as she is essentially alone. For Fleur, all of this revenge and negativity does not bring happiness to her, as there isn’t even a path to reach her.