Judge Coutts In Erdrich's The Reptile Garden

As Evelina’s function as a narrator is to offer background and cultural context, it comes to no surprise that she encounters Warren. She adds “points” regarding him, furthering those established by Marn. Evelina meets Warren while in a psych ward, both as a worker and as a patient. In one of their first encounters, Evelina states that “He tried to give me money—dollar bills folded fine in a peculiar way” (229). Warren’s action with the folded up dollars would strike anyone as odd, yet, as the narrators have established Warren to be an “off” character, it ultimately fits. Evelina’s chapter “The Reptile Garden” contains a section titled “Warren” where we find most of their interaction (226-230). This is first case of the novel offering more than a few lines regarding …show more content…
While Judge Coutts does not provide further information about the lynching, he does introduce Doctor Lochren, who becomes a vital narrator in the complete understanding of the story. Erdrich “...demonstrate[s] how the use of multiple narrators helps alleviate the alienation of individual characters” (Reid 70). Through Judge Coutts we learn that Doctor Lochren is racist towards Native Americans as she turns them away at her practice, except for Judge Coutts. His chapters also describe the relationship the two of them shared, which was essentially an affair that everyone in Pluto knew about. This bits of information appear to make Doctor Lochren not a likeable nor set her up as a reliable narrator. However, Judge Coutts’ narrations fits with the rest of the novel. A Plague of Doves tells us all of the information through the narrators; just because a “point” may complicate or blur understanding does not mean it will not be told. In turn, the full scope of Doctor Lochren is portrayed, or at least what is necessary to bring about an understanding of her character which will influence how her narration can be