Four Souls: Finding Inner Peace

The ending of Four Souls seemed relatively happy to me. After all, how often do things turn out perfectly? Perfect endings do not always exist in real life. Yet, I guess it also depends on what your definition of "perfect" is. All I'm saying is that the ending of the story was good enough for me. The ending tied things together, but still left the ending open to interpretation. We, as the audience, do not know what happens from here on out. For all we know, Fleur lives a quiet life but could still go back to her alcohol, and she may never patch things up with her children. However, if the story were to continue, I like to think otherwise and believe that Fleur will start with a clean slate. Margaret's offer of the medicine dress and a new name for Fleur signified a rebirth and a new beginning. I am optimistic about Fleur's future and I think she is finally letting go of the weight of her issues. She has settled down and found inner peace, in spite of the past.

As for the other characters' endings, I'm still a bit unsure, but I'll just go with what I'm thinking. I think that everything turned out well for Polly Elizabeth; I couldn't have imagined a better ending for her. Her point of view changed drastically in the story from her thinking of Indians as "savages" to later forming a sister-like bond with Fleur. Polly ends her narration by saying, "I am that rare thing thought only to exist in death. I am a happy woman." When I read this, I thought she just meant that she was finally satisfied after once believing that happiness was not meant for her. She had let herself love and be loved, and this brings her fulfillment.

Nanapush's ending was similar to Polly Elizabeth's because he seemed to have also achieved inner peace. He is old now and has experienced many things in life, and he feels that he "know[s] the story." The idea of the "story" is what is left over at the end of our lives. Our story is our legacy and it is what will be handed down to the next generation, so that they may build upon it. At the end of the book, I do not think that Nanapush is speaking from his death bed necessarily. I just think that he has come to accept how things have turned out and he is ready for death when it comes. He will finally be able to rest in peace.