The Jumbies

Pierre La Mer is Corinne’s father, who works as a fisherman. Pierre is a minor character in the novel; however, his close relationship to Corinne heightens his overall significance to the story. In the novel’s early chapters, Pierre serves as a source of background information, supplying important context about Corinne’s childhood and her relationship with Nicole. Importantly, readers only receive this information from Pierre through his dialogues with Corinne; none of the chapters is told from Pierre’s perspective.

It is also through Pierre that Corinne initially learns that jumbies and magic are “made-up stories” (31) people on the island enjoy sharing. This belief may seem contradictory, as he also teaches Corinne that her Grand-père is “the king of the fish-folk” (19)—and therefore, a kind of magical being. From early in the novel, then, Pierre reads as a character of benign contradictions. He draws on fantastical explanations for events when convenient but does not believe in magical powers, per se. While harmless to Corinne, this aspect of Pierre’s character makes him susceptible to Severine’s magic.

Pierre’s capture and transformation reverse the common trope of the damsel in distress. In action narratives, a male protagonist must often save a female character who is a friend, romantic interest, or family member. His capture also subverts his role as Corinne’s protector. When it comes to supernatural forces, Pierre cannot protect Corinne and is powerless to protect himself.

Severine is the novel’s antagonist, introduced to readers by name in Chapter 12. Severine is the ancient mother of the island’s jumbie population and was present when humans first arrived in tall, wooden ships. After they attacked her, Severine drowned nearly all of those settlers. She is resentful of the people who currently live on her island, as she never wanted them to settle there. Severine’s anger represents the jumbies’ loss of control over their home, particularly their being pushed far into the forests and swamps.

Severine moves from a passive to an active figure as the novel progresses. At first, she merely watches Corinne. Her first direct interaction is when she tries to drown Corinne and her friends in Chapters 9 to 11. After she infiltrates Corinne’s home and gains influence over Pierre, her true motives are revealed.

Severine is a dark mother figure for Corinne. In the horror genre, which Severine represents, characters often have a grotesque opposite. Severine fulfills this role in the Le Mer family; she is Nicole’s sister and wants to bring Corinne under her control. When she entices Corinne to join the jumbies, she tells her: “We can be the first family, Corinne. I will be your new mother” (120). Of course, she does not want to take care of Corinne; she wants to use her to further her goal of destroying the islands’ humans. Severine’s shape-shifting abilities symbolize her dual nature. As Nicole’s sister, she had the opportunity to empathize with humans but chose to hate them. She could use her magic to protect the jumbies; instead, she wants to turn them into an army.

Dru, whose full name is Drupatee Sareena Rootsingh, is a new friend Corinne meets at the marketplace. When readers first meet Dru, she clings to her mother and is fearful of all things supernatural. Dru lives in a farming village near Corinne’s. Her father is a sugarcane farmer, and she is one of the youngest of eight siblings. Throughout most of the novel, Dru is nervous, hypervigilant, and sheltered by her mother; Bouki teases her about this. She is a foil for the courageous and selfless Corinne. Both before and after finding out Corinne is part jumbie, Dru blames her friend’s reckless courage for triggering the island’s problems with jumbies. Although the narrator does not explicitly say as much, Dru’s close relationship with her mother influences her increasingly negative opinion of Corinne.

Following Chapter 31, Dru develops significantly as a character. In a sudden change of heart, Dru approaches Bouki and Malik to help Corinne in retrieving her necklace. Dru’s confrontation with a lagahoo in Chapter 41 completes her transformative arc: The beast grabs for Dru and sets her long hair on fire, yet she successfully runs home. The burning of Dru’s signature long hair symbolizes her shedding her fear and need for over-protection; in helping her friends, she has gained courage and strength. The narrative alludes to this change with Dru’s new haircut, which makes her look “fierce” (221).