Surfacing Chapter 14 Summary

  • David was excited about the discovery of the dead bird and wanted to film it. While he set up the camera, the narrator thought about who had killed the heron and why—the bird clearly hadn't been eaten or used for any other purpose. She attributed the violence to the Americans they'd seen coming by on the boat.
  • They then took the second portage to the "lac des verges blanches."
  • They set up the camp and then headed out fishing, leaving Anna behind. David caught a fish.
  • While they were out, the Americans came by to chat with them. When they were done and had caught a few fish, they went back to the camp. Anna freaked out to the narrator that she had forgotten her makeup, which she swore David would punish her for. This led into more talk between Anna and the narrator about her marriage.
  • Later that night, when Joe and the narrator were in their tent together, Joe said he was giving in, and they could just go back to the city and resume living the way they had been. However, the narrator was no longer willing to do that, which made him really mad.