The Mighty Red

“There was something mysterious and magical about Kismet and dating her helped Gary feel sane. He suspected it was her Indian, oops, Native American blood, though he never mentioned it again after the first time.”

Gary believes that he loves Kismet, but passages like these demonstrate that he sees her through the lens of difference. Because she is not white like he is, Gary exoticizes her. He uses words like “mysterious” to describe her just because she is Indigenous. It is clear that he perceives whiteness as “normal” and Indigeneity as “other.”

“Now, in the valley the aquifer was being tapped out to make perfect potatoes for McDonald’s fries. There were no more secret bubbling springs.”

Many of this novel’s critiques of the corporatization of contemporary culture come from Hugo. Here, he reflects on the death of small farms and how an increasing percentage of the United States’s farmland is dedicated to growing crops that do not provide healthy food to American people. Instead of growing vegetables and edible grains, much of the area’s land is dedicated to animal feed or genetically modified potatoes to sell to fast food chains. This quote speaks to the theme of Economic Instability’s Impact on Individuals and Small Communities.

“The Pavleckys were many generations removed from the first wave of Bohemian immigrants to flee conscription in the army of the Austro-Hungarian emperor. They still farmed and had some land.”

This novel, like all of Erdrich’s works of fiction, is deeply connected to setting. The Red River, which runs northward along the Minnesota/North Dakota border, provides rich soil for its valley’s farmland. Long before colonization, it was home to Indigenous peoples, and in the centuries since Europeans began arriving, the valley has hosted waves of immigrants from Germany, Bohemia (present-day Czechia), and northern Europe. The complex interplay of Indigenous and European groups is at the core of Louise Erdrich’s broader literary project, and this novel evidences her keen interest in the way that various ethnic communities come together, and even clash, in the region.

“My daughter is too young, she’s going to college, and Gary is not right for her.”

Crystal is a fierce advocate for her daughter. This is partly because she recognizes Kismet’s intelligence, potential, and desire to live with Tabor, but also because she was herself so disappointed by young love. She knows that at 18, it is possible to misjudge a man and also to misjudge one’s own goals, dreams, and aspirations. Familial love is a key facet of this novel: Multiple parents are characterized by the love and support they provide to their children, and mothers like Crystal are particularly invested in their children’s happiness.

“Kismet floated on. She let the current clutch her and carry her to the main street bridge, but right there it took her under, whirled and rolled her. The feeling was not unpleasant, as the shock of cold had worked with the vodka like a stun gun, but soon Kismet knew she would have to breathe. She didn’t want to die, but also understood with perfect clarity why she let the current grab her.”

Kismet’s paralysis is a key aspect of her characterization. She is highly intelligent and college-bound, but the thought of higher education fills her with fear. She does not know whether she truly loves Gary, but she is unable to refuse his proposal. She cannot make her own decisions and instead sees herself as subject to the whims and decisions of others.

“All that money scraped from bitterly small sugar beet campaign checks, clerk and teacher and grocery bagger checks, bartender and grain elevator operator checks, slipped from worn plastic wallets dollar by dollar since 1988 and worthily invested, practically growing by the minute. This money had been carefully heaped together by Martin Poe, invested counselor, trusted servant, tireless fundraiser. Martin kept the money in a dedicated series of accounts that were no longer. No longer anywhere.”

The 2008 stock market crash hovers in the background of the novel’s first section, but it is not until the second section that its impact is felt in the Red River Valley. Hugo first posits that perhaps Martin didn’t steal the money but lost it in the crash. These fictional moments draw attention to the countless people who lost their pensions and life savings in 2008 and help ground the text within a lived experience that is, for many, all too relatable.

“She stood before the giant wall cross and writhing crucified Christ as father Flirty’s voice tremoloed along through the marriage service.”

In this moment, Kismet’s fixation on the church’s graphic crucifix speaks to her feelings of despair and the act of self-sacrifice she feels that she is performing in marrying Gary. She goes through the wedding not because she loves Gary but to provide a distraction from her father’s crime. She is confused about what she wants, frozen at the thought of adult life, and hopes that her marriage will help her family.

“And so love dies, Crystal thought, pulled down to earth by the tedious weight of a partner’s habits.”

Multiple kinds of love are on display in this novel. Crystal’s deep parental love for Kismet drives many of her decisions, but she is equally characterized by the failure of her marriage to Martin. Their love, although fiery and passionate at first, gradually faded. The two seem strikingly different: Crystal is down to earth while Martin spends money like water, has expensive tastes, and never seems quite at home in his humble life. In depicting various ways of loving and being loved, Erdrich explores the complexity of human relationships and paints a multi-faceted portrait of human emotions, speaking to the theme of Love’s Many Forms.

“More people lost their farms, and the farms that survived got bigger so fewer people to shop and those who survived wealthier, so traveling out of state. After a while there came the dollar stores. Walmarts opened in the area. Downtown began to look haunted and hollow.”

Erdrich grew up in the Red River Valley, and her rural childhood informs much of her work. The socioeconomic decline that she describes in this passage speaks to real-life changes that have irrevocably altered the Red River Valley and other rural areas across the Midwest. The transition from communities anchored by family farms to underpopulated towns characterized by blight is true to life, and through her fictional depiction of the decline of small farms, Erdrich sheds light on a key issue in communities like the one in which she came of age.

“Crystal had usually worked two jobs. Weekdays she used to be a receptionist for a construction company in town. On weekends she worked on the main floor at Penney’s.”

Crystal is a hardworking character and here, her work ethic markedly contrasts with that of Martin. He has never held down a real job and disappeared after losing the church’s money. Their differences are a key part of why their marriage became so unhappy and are, in a sense, part of the reason why Kismet does not understand love—she never had a functional relationship model and is not sure what healthy love looks like.

“Sound was missing, very missing. Now the newness of the house took on a sinister aspect.”

Kismet’s fraught marriage to Gary is one of the novel’s key focal points, and it helps Erdrich explore Love’s Many Forms in human relationships. Both she and her mother realize that Kismet should not have married Gary, and in the days surrounding the wedding, Kismet finds a series of signs that portend doom, from the wedding cake to the silence of her new, pre-fabricated home. She misses the sights and sounds of town and the ease of living with her mother.

“The money could have vanished last fall in the crash along with so much other money and Martin had been desperately pretending ever since.”

Although it remains in the background during the novel’s early sections, the 2008 stock market crash comes to the Red River Valley in the form of Martin’s lost investments. Although the town is quick to blame Martin for having stolen the money, characters like Hugo guess that the loss is part of the United States’s broader economic meltdown in the wake of the crash.

“Now their friendship group had two big holes in it, one filled with sorrow and the other rage.”

This passage speaks to the aura of mystery surrounding the accident. It is spoken of in hushed tones, creating tension and suspense in an otherwise straightforward novel. The secret of the accident is not revealed until very late in the narrative, but its impact is apparent early on.

“Perfect Advantage was bought out by one of the big banks and not only are they getting bailed out, but they have more lawyers than anyone in the state.”

This passage reflects the author’s subtle but determined engagement with the 2008 crash’s impact on ordinary working Americans. By pointing out that large banks were bailed out but many individuals lost their savings and pensions, Erdrich raises awareness of how government financial policy often disproportionately harms the working and middle classes while benefiting the wealthy.

“Except there was that accident that happened, March before last, a thing that nobody wants to talk about.”

Here again, the author drops clues that the mysterious accident has bearing on Gary’s life and his marriage to Kismet. This complex, multi-layered novel engages with the Red River Valley’s history, the lives of its ordinary inhabitants, and the impact of both environmental and economic policy on individuals. A central mystery also threads its way through the narrative, meant to keep readers engaged and guessing.

“I can’t say your full name. It hurts my tongue, Kizzy.”

Both Winnie and Gary view Kismet through the lens of stereotype and difference. To them, she is “other” because she is Indigenous, and they never quite realize that she is a complex, multi-faceted individual. Here, Winnie engages in a microaggression, claiming to not be able to pronounce Kismet’s name and insisting on calling her a nickname that Kismet does not like or want.

“There were big time owners and there were workers. It had been like that since the Red River Valley was settled. First the land was taken from the Dakota, the Ojibwe, the Métis, by forced treaties. Then the original people started working on the land they once owned.”

Part of Erdrich’s broader point about environmental damage in this novel is that it is inextricably connected to social and economic inequality. Here, Crystal notes the history of land theft in the region and points out that once the area was settled by Europeans, its original Indigenous inhabitants were disenfranchised, reduced to the status of workers, and denied the right to profit from their land.

“The seeds were small golden orange balls, cheerful and glowing, created to be immune to the killing powers of Roundup.”

Genetically modifying crops to be resistant to pesticides is at the core of corporate farming practices. Roundup is devastating to the environment, but also harmful to humans and other animals. At the end of the novel, Gary chooses to move the Geist farm away from this kind of pesticide use, reflecting real-life ideas about how to reverse environmental damage in agricultural areas in the Midwest.

“Kismet was a hero, but if she knew her value, Winnie feared, she might escape.”

This points to the complex dynamic between Winnie and Kismet. Winnie is not without empathy, but she places her son’s needs above Kismet’s. She understands that Kismet is a good human being but is willing to use her in order to help Gary. Winnie is a complex character and just one of several figures in the novel who, although capable of bad behavior, is not entirely antagonistic.

“The Rasputin robbery was repeated on every news cycle. Crystal watched, amused. After all, what with the CEOs of banks getting millions of dollars in bonuses instead of arrested and thrown in jail, who cares?”

The 2008 crash is a key focal point in this novel, and Erdrich uses her characters to raise awareness of the way that the crash impacted ordinary Americans. She notes at several points that the government was happy to bail out banks but left many people without savings or pensions. Here, Crystal thinks wryly that she has little sympathy for banks and that perhaps the bank robber is the only real justice that the banks will see.

“Diz just didn’t have the words. He solved things by working on a wrench.”

Diz, although not given a large role in the narrative, is a complex character. He has more humanity than his father and shows kindness to Kismet, but his family is not functional. He loves the Red River Valley but pollutes it with various petrochemicals while farming sugar beets. Here, he recognizes that he lacks emotional intelligence and is much more comfortable solving real-world problems than addressing issues like grief and melancholy.

“All the guys loved Jordan, but Gary maybe loved him most of all.”

Gary is a complex figure. Although he can be unthinking and uncaring, he is shown to be a loving friend. He cared deeply for Jordan and although he does not show it or discuss it openly, his guilt over Jordan’s death motivates many of his actions throughout the novel. To move past the accident, he will have to come to terms with his friend’s untimely death, and he does not begin to do that until he can admit his role in it.

“‘We’re taking you back after this’ said Crystal “no argument, just do as I say’’”

This novel is in part a meditation on the many forms that love can take, and parental love is often shown to be less fraught than marriage and romantic love. Here, Crystal demonstrates the depth of her maternal love by helping Kismet to do the one thing she cannot do for herself—make a concrete decision about leaving her unhappy marriage. Kismet struggles with motivation throughout the novel, and Crystal knows her daughter well enough to understand that Kismet needs Crystal to step in and take charge.