Ella Cara Deloria’s novel Waterlily tells a story of a fictitious Dakota girl named Waterlily, and the lives and customs of women in Dakota community. Deloria describes a detailed premises of the camp in which the Dakota life was based and the kinship defining the role of the women through the life experience of two generation women, Waterlily and her mother. The story follows the journey of Waterlily from birth (6) to her grandmother’s death (141) through her adulthood, to her marriage (160) and remarriage (220), during the time of happiness and sadness, until she finally found the true love.
The main character of this novel is Waterlily. She was named by her mother Blue Bird, as she was born near the waterlilies. Her mother thinks her child’s …show more content…
She became a member of the largest tiyospaye she had ever known, which was headed by Good Hunter. She felt lonely and unhappy, longing for her family. Life in the tiyospaye of Sacred Horse was ceremonial and extremely formal for her, and she missed her home where she can do whatever she feels like (176). Eventually, she returned to her family after Sacred Horse and his immediate family get sick from smallpox, which killed most of the people in the camp circle including her husband. When Waterlily returned to her family, she was pregnant with Sacred Horse’s child and his family proposed that she marry one of his cousins to help her raise the child (218). The men relatives were seen as the backbone of their society while the women are expected to be hard working. Yet it was not a cultural demand that she marry, but a custom and understanding that she needed a husband who can provide, perhaps security for the child and herself. This also shows how each member of the society contributed to the peaceful coexistence of their tiyospaye. Finally, Waterlily was taken by surprise when the cousin of Sacred Horse turned out to be Lowanla, the young man she felt attracted for a strange reason during the Sun Dance festival in
The main character of this novel is Waterlily. She was named by her mother Blue Bird, as she was born near the waterlilies. Her mother thinks her child’s …show more content…
She became a member of the largest tiyospaye she had ever known, which was headed by Good Hunter. She felt lonely and unhappy, longing for her family. Life in the tiyospaye of Sacred Horse was ceremonial and extremely formal for her, and she missed her home where she can do whatever she feels like (176). Eventually, she returned to her family after Sacred Horse and his immediate family get sick from smallpox, which killed most of the people in the camp circle including her husband. When Waterlily returned to her family, she was pregnant with Sacred Horse’s child and his family proposed that she marry one of his cousins to help her raise the child (218). The men relatives were seen as the backbone of their society while the women are expected to be hard working. Yet it was not a cultural demand that she marry, but a custom and understanding that she needed a husband who can provide, perhaps security for the child and herself. This also shows how each member of the society contributed to the peaceful coexistence of their tiyospaye. Finally, Waterlily was taken by surprise when the cousin of Sacred Horse turned out to be Lowanla, the young man she felt attracted for a strange reason during the Sun Dance festival in