"She Waits in the Spirit Land"

In her short story "She Waits in the Spirit Land," Lydia Maria Child explores the love between two young Indians. Though the couple is not married in an official sense, they are deeply committed to one another, and clearly enjoy the sexual aspect of their relationship. Indeed, the frank manner in which Child conveys the physical nature of Wah-bu-nung-o and O-ge-bu-no-qua's relationship is rather surprising given the fact that the story was written in the nineteenth century when Victorian values called for the repression of all sexual desire and curiosity. In this sense, Child's story seems "daringly erotic" (195) and appears to assert that the erotic is simply a normal part of life, as she employs an unapologetically candid tone in describing the romance and uses the setting to express the notion that sexuality and sexual desire are a natural part of one's life. Her casual attitude toward sexuality seems to imply that it is not only a pure and innocent response but one which falls outside of the purvey of society's judgmental role. It would not make sense to judge sexuality any more than it would make sense to judge love, compassion, or any other natural response to another human being. Child implies that the judgmental attitude toward sexuality evidenced in other societies is a result of those societies' perverted manner of looking at something that is without sin and attempting to render it sinful. In that sense, she seems to be suggesting that perhaps civilization i

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ivate time on the island, Child explains, "He spoke of love, of the new wigwam he would build for his bride, and the game he would bring down with his arrow" (169). Yet, there comes a point at which Wah-bu-nung-o and O-ge-bu-no-qua's closeness "roused emotions too strong for words" (169), and they must find another way to express their feeling. That they choose to do so in a physical way does not seem to shock Child, who declares "Stolid and imperturbable as the Indian race seem in the presence of spectators, in these lonely hours with the beloved one, they too love that love is the glowing wine, the exhilarating 'fire-water' of the soul" (169). This seems to imply that although Wah-bu-nung-o and O-ge-bu-no-qua behave in as restrained a manner as the rest of their race, they are still passionate when alone together. It is not only Child, however, who finds Wah-bu-nung-o and O-ge-bu-no-qua's behavior acceptable and natural. When they return to their village, "no one questioned them. It was the most natural thing in the world that they should love each other (169). The elders respect their feelings for one another, and see their sexual exploration as entirely normal. To further upset Victorian mores, Child explains that the

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