Part Two: VII, Saint Calamity Summary

In Saint Calamity, as the plague spreads, Pauline's husband insists that she leave for the house on La Tortue that he bought in case of emergency. Soliman and her maids go with her. At first, Pauline is happy and at leisure in her new home. When her husband, Leclerc, joins her though, he is wracked with chills and his eyes are yellow. Pauline is terrified, and she turns to Soliman for voodoo rituals against the disease. The black religious beliefs resonate with Pauline's Corsican background. He performs rituals such as floating coconut shells decorated with ribbons on the sea so the Lord of the Sea will not allow the disease to cross the ocean.

Pauline begins to avoid stepping on the cracks between tiles on the floor, since the cracks form crosses which should not...