Once Upon a River

Rita Sunday is the voice of reason in Once Upon a River. The local nurse, she grew up in a nunnery and was born via Cesarean section shortly after her mother died by suicide. She gained experience working in the nunnery’s hospital before she lost her faith and traveled to work as a doctor’s assistant. The men around her “[find] her lacking in almost every respect. Her cheekbones [are] too high and too angular; her nose [is] a bit too large, her jaw a bit too wide, her chin a bit too forward” (17). Ironically, these “undesirable” features draw Henry Daunt to her, for they make her an interesting subject to photograph.

Despite these unkind descriptions, Rita is broadly regarded to be skilled and sensible. The fact that Rita deemed The Child dead, then found her alive once again, causes the locals to believe there is more to the story than drunken tales. Rita would not craft such an unbelievable story; therefore, her words must be the truth.

Rita is integral to The Child’s story. Her disbelief of the supernatural serves as the reader stand-in for questioning the events of the plot, and her inquisitiveness allows her to search for answers. Whenever something supposedly miraculous or otherworldly occurs, Rita is the first to examine the science behind it. She seeks out the unexplainable, which invites the reader to apply modern sensibilities to the scenarios presented within the novel. She represents science in the Conflict Between Science and Belief. As the story progresses, she encounters inexplicable phenomena and people who actively reject scientific explanation in favor of belief. Eventually, she allows science and belief to share space within her world; while she maintains her faith in scientific progress, she also allows for the existence of the unexplainable.

Rita defines herself by her lack of children. She is surprised that she cares for The Child immediately beyond her usual nursing attentiveness. This draw to The Child makes her question her potential as a mother, a future she rejected out of fear. Before The Child, she was content with her place in the world; after, she dares to imagine a different life. Rita’s burgeoning love for Daunt, paired with his new perspective on family, culminates in her decision to become a mother. Her growth is entirely internal, hinged on overcoming a deep-seated fear. She ends the novel believing that the creation of life is more important than her own life, joining with Daunt to build the family she never had. 

Henry Daunt initiates the plot of the novel when he arrives, injured, to the Swan carrying The Child’s body. He is a large man with a scar on his upper lip from the boat crash that night. He is a photographer at the forefront of the science behind the new technology. After his recovery, he is inspired to create a mobile photography studio, which gives him access to all the other main characters.

Daunt is Rita’s partner in skepticism, but he is also a unique storyteller. He asks Rita questions about their observations, pushing her to provide reasoning for her theories. Daunt, with his camera, provides irrefutable evidence about the world around them. This is paramount to investigating Maud’s disappearance, which culminates in the novel’s end revelations about Amelia Vaughan’s fate. While Rita tends to focus solely on actual happenings, Daunt interacts with narratives. He crafts a magic lantern show to try and out Amelia’s kidnappers; he also openly listens to and documents others’ stories. Like Rita, he reaches no solid conclusions about the strange events of the book.

Daunt’s love for Rita and his desire to protect The Child serve as the fodder for Rita’s internal journey. As a widower, Daunt has more life experience than Rita, and as such brings a unique perspective to their relationship. He does not attempt to change Rita’s stance on childbirth; instead, he tries to change his own feelings. This is a direct contrast to the abusive characters in the book, all of whom exert control over their victims. His willingness to empower Rita results in her choosing him and motherhood, a decision that is more powerful because it is freely made. At the novel’s close, Daunt cements himself as a storyteller through the publication of his picture book, which follows the Thames River.

Helena and Anthony Vaughan are the first to claim The Child as theirs. They are a young couple still grappling with their daughter Amelia’s kidnapping two years prior. The kidnapping sent Helena into a deep depression and caused her to distance herself from Vaughan, who in turn lost interest in his business affairs.

Helena clings to The Child’s uncertain identity to get closure about her missing daughter. She insists that The Child is Amelia, citing her mother’s intuition. The Child’s presence frees her from her depression, allowing her to reconnect with Vaughan and rejoin the community. However, it quickly becomes apparent that Helena’s belief is based on blind faith. When discussing The Child’s apparent drowning with Rita, Helena “[does] not seem to need confirmation” (181). The longer she is with The Child, the more Helena ignores the mounting evidence that the girl is not Amelia. Her behavior reinforces the trauma of grief and the desperation some people experience as they try to navigate it. Eventually, Helena learns she is pregnant again; this revelation awakens her, placing her in the right mindset to accept the truth of Amelia’s fate later on.

Vaughan remains unconvinced that The Child is Amelia. He keeps his doubts private for the sake of Helena’s happiness, though many people around him see through his guise. Vaughan’s internal despair is the result of suppressed guilt and grief. His discovery of Amelia’s corpse on the night of her kidnapping caused a temporary break with reality, during which he released her body into the river. His immediate guilt prevented him from telling his wife the truth, which in turn prevented her from grieving. This kept their relationship in a state of purgatory. After The Child is forcibly given to the Armstrongs and Vaughan is blackmailed to get her back, he finally allows himself to face the past. Guided by the therapist Mrs. Constantine, Vaughan tells Helena the truth of Amelia’s fate and opens the door to honesty and mourning. When Rita and Daunt bring The Child back to the Vaughans, they finally welcome her into their home—not as “Amelia,” but as her own person.

Through the pain of confession, the Vaughans become close again. Freed of uncertainty, they heal, and in doing so are once again made into a family. Their growth culminates in their departure for New Zealand, seeking out fresh rivers that are not associated with death.

Robert and Bess Armstrong are the second party to claim The Child. They are a multiracial couple, which is unconventional for the time period of the book. Bess was pregnant with Robin when she married Armstrong, but Armstrong loves Robin as his own son, just as he loves his many other children.

Bess is described as a pretty woman with physical disabilities: “Her faint curls were tucked neatly into her bonnet, and her blue dress was simple, as befits a busy farmer’s wife, though she endowed it with a prettiness that suggested she was still young at heart. She had a swaying gait; with every second step she stooped to the left, with every step in between she rose again. It did not slow her. Nor was she hindered by the patch that covered her right eye” (60). As a young woman, she was raped by Victor Nash and became pregnant with Robin. Armstrong comforted her through this trauma, and they married shortly after the assault. Armstrong’s support allowed Bess to navigate her grief in a healthy manner.

Bess’s eyepatch covers her amblyopia—commonly known as “lazy eye”. Bess believes it is a Seeing eye; Rita is privately skeptical, exemplifying the Conflict Between Science and Belief. Bess uses her Seeing eye only to gain knowledge of a person’s true nature, and in this way comes to accept that The Child is not actually Alice Armstrong, Robin’s daughter. Bess feels that Robin is inherently incapable of goodness, but she supports Armstrong’s attempts to bond with him. Bess and Armstrong thus prove to be one of the most nurturing, supportive couples in the book.

Robert Armstrong’s mother was a Black servant and his father was a white aristocrat. He acknowledges his privilege for having parents who loved him as best they could in a racist society, as shown by his expansive education and ownership of the farm. However, he also admits that he struggled with being raised “on the edge of two families, one rich and one poor, one black and one white, and never at the heart of either” (349). This life as an outcast draws Armstrong to Robin despite the lack of blood relationship. It is also one of the reasons he searches for Alice, even though he has no legal obligation to do so. Like his parents and his wife, Armstrong is loving and compassionate; when he notices signs of Benjamin’s physical abuse, he invites the boy to come live with him. When Benjamin finally joins them, bringing Alice with him, the Armstrongs welcome both children.

Outside of his loving family, Armstrong must still navigate a racist society. He often uses his education, speaking in a “white voice” and using politeness or small gifts to soothe people who would otherwise be nervous in his presence. He has a deep affection for animals, in part because they do not react to his Blackness.

Bess and Robert end the novel mourning Robin but celebrating Alice and Ben. Their supportive relationship means they do not have to navigate extensive trauma and grief like the Vaughans or Lily; however, they receive significant reconciliation, continuing to grow their farm and family despite the societal pressures exerted upon them.

Lily White is the third person to claim The Child. She is an older woman who works as a housekeeper for the local parsonage. The community views her as odd, but they respect her work ethic and giving nature. Lily’s childhood was filled with difficult circumstances, including poverty and abuse at the hands of her stepfather, stepbrother (Victor Nash), and a man she thought of as her husband. She believes that The Child is her resurrected sister, Ann.

This implausible claim is rooted in trauma. Victor tricked her into thinking that she murdered Ann when she was a teenager, causing her to live with decades of guilt. Her belief that she murdered Ann haunts her through nightmares and a fear of water. Victor exploits her guilt. He mercilessly abuses her, using fear and family to keep her complacent. However, The Child’s appearance provides Lily with the gumption she needs to start sticking up for herself. She soothes herself by imagining The Child’s luxurious life and swears to protect her from Victor. Lily’s claim on The Child is unique; she never tries to take The Child, knowing that others can give her a better, safer life. Lily remains distanced from the community for most of the novel, lacking positive human connections.

Lily is blameless in both Amelia’s kidnapping and Ann’s disappearance, but her misplaced guilt solves the mystery of Amelia Vaughan. Lily inadvertently leads Armstrong to Maud, which not only reconciles farmer and pig but also reveals Victor’s involvement in the kidnapping scheme. Daunt’s lantern show overwhelms her with guilt and drives her to confess—this way, the others learn that her involvement in both tragedies was minimal, and Lily is absolved.

The mitigation of guilt is symbolized by the flooding of her cottage. The flooding event is the first time that Lily is shown to be at peace, no longer afraid of water or Victor. Finally soothed, Lily moves into the parsonage and fully joins society. There, she experiences a softer life with a puppy and a nice room to call her own, finally freed of Victor’s constraints. 

Robin Armstrong is one of the novel’s antagonists. He is a pale, attractive man with light brown hair and blue eyes. He is a charmer, using his appearance and gifted language to get what he wants. He is manipulative, lying to his parents from a young age. As he gets older, he comes to them for money that Bess never wants to give. He does not follow through on his commitments, as is evidenced by his abandoned wife and daughter. His wife was forced to turn to prostitution before her death; Robin shows no sympathy or culpability for his part in her degradation.

Robin’s descent into crime is centered on the question of parentage. At a young age, he came into the misbelief that his real father was a lord. Rather than question his parents or accept Armstrong’s love, he saw himself as nobility and began living above his means, even resorting to kidnapping to fund his desires. Initially, he refutes the idea that The Child is his daughter Alice. But when the money from the kidnapping runs out, he exploits the Vaughans’ grief a second time. He stages an elaborate scheme to get custody of the Child without openly claiming her, then tries to blackmail Anthony Vaughan into taking her back.

Robin spends much of the novel rejecting Armstrong as his father and as a mentor. Ultimately, this rejection—and the truth of his parentage—leads to his demise. When he learns that his father is actually Victor Nash, a fellow criminal (whom he fears, no less), his inflated self-worth shatters. He attacks Victor, which leads to their deaths. In the end, he calls Armstrong “father,” but this is only a desperate attempt to save himself through emotional manipulation. There is situational irony in his death, as he is taken away by Quietly and The Child.