Moloka'i

The father of Rachel, Sarah, Kimo, and Ben and the husband to Dorothy, Henry functions as the archetype of a good and caring father, exhibiting little change or dynamism. Rachel’s memories of her father depict a man who, in spite of a few foibles, loves his daughter without end. As Sarah later notes, Henry holds special affection for Rachel, having dreamed of her true name Aouli before her birth, and Henry’s favoring of Rachel creates tension between Rachel and her older sister as children.

Henry works as a sailor, and the sea offers the only real challenge to Rachel for his affections. On “Steamer Day,” when he returns to Honolulu, he brings his family presents, giving Rachel a new doll from a new country, as she creates an international coterie of dolls. His marriage to Dorothy appears, at first, to be defined by love and personal affection, even as Dorothy notes that Henry has contracted sexually-transmitted diseases on his long voyages. They don’t agree on religion—Dorothy believes devoutly in Christianity, and Henry avoids church when he’s home—and they separate soon after Rachel’s exile. He believes in his Hawaiian history and traditions, worrying about the future of the monarchy when the king dies.

A dynamic character, Dorothy disappears from the novel soon after Rachel arrives at Moloka’i, and Rachel’s letters to her are undeliverable. A devout Christian, who eschews Hawaiian names, legendary history, and religion, Dorothy gives all her children Christian names, including James, whom everyone else calls Kimo. Devoted to her children, she tries to hide Rachel’s initially painless signs of Hansen’s disease. Visibly affected by her daughter’s exile to Moloka’i, Dorothy writes her daughter letters and, back in Honolulu, faces shame and quarantine from her neighbors and fellow church goers. When the organizer of the Christmas bake sale refuses Dorothy’s cake, she never returns to church, moving to Maui with her remaining children.

Until Rachel meets Sarah, after Rachel’s release from Moloka’i, the only news Rachel knows of Dorothy comes from her father, who proves a less than reliable source of information. Dorothy transforms on Maui, as Kimo begins to exhibit the same symptoms that Rachel earlier experienced. Sending Ben and Sarah to live with relatives, Dorothy takes Kimo into the jungle, hiding him and caring for his sores and rashes, until he dies soon after. Rachel and Sarah see that Dorothy buried her son, not with his Christian name, but as Kimo.

Henry’s brother, Pono, is Rachel’s favorite uncle and Margaret’s husband. Pono serves as comic relief in the novel and a source of humor at Moloka’i. Diagnosed with Hansen’s disease before Rachel, Pono attempts to escape the health inspector but ultimately goes to Moloka’i before Rachel. When she arrives, he tries to serve as her caretaker. He develops as a father-figure at Moloka’i, maintaining his closeness to Rachel. While Pono’s symptoms progress quickly, and tumors appear across his face, Pono maintains his good humor until his death, surrounded by Rachel and Haleola.

Dorothy blames Rachel’s earliest symptoms on Pono, based on their close relationship and Pono’s numerous extramarital affairs. At Moloka’i he tries to be a better husband and father, never mentioning Margaret, who divorces him, and rarely talking about his own children, having lost contact with them. As Haleola’s lover, Pono proves a loving and caring partner, bringing smiles to the inhabitants of Moloka’i.

A healer and long-time resident of Moloka’i, Haleola came to the community first as a person without Hansen’s disease in order to take care of her husband, Keo, until he dies. Haleola becomes Pono’s partner when he arrives, and, after his death, Rachel’s adopted aunt. A foil to Sister Catherine and an embodiment of native Hawaiian traditions and beliefs, Haleola teaches Rachel lore and practices Dorothy did not. Haleola serves as second mother to Rachel. Haleola debates the merits of Christianity with Father Damien and offers new perspectives to Sister Catherine. Both Catherine and Haleola bridge two worlds, and Haleola notes that she has always “lived in two worlds” (180) represented by her cultural history and the contemporary medical crisis. While not a dynamic character, her life in the two worlds suggest that she functions as a complex individual.

Most clearly defined as a defender of her native land and its practices, Haleola stands defiantly against the proselytizing Christianity practiced by Father Damien and remains openly hostile to American imperialism and the American flag. After she dies, Rachel maintains her memory, narrating the history and lore of Hawai’i to children in the settlement and her sister later.

Born in a middle-class family in Ithaca, NY, Ruth, later Sister Catherine, has two siblings—Jack and Polly—and she alludes to her frequent disagreements and childhood squabbles with Polly, sharing that with Rachel. Catherine’s father dies by suicide, and her mother spends the rest of her life missing him, experiencing grief and sadness. Catherine joins the Franciscans and moves to Hawai’i. As a foil to Haleola, Catherine helps to raise and mother Rachel. Catherine represents a simple Christianity, bathing and mending the wounds of her patients, taking the Bishop Home girls on beach trips, and advocating for Rachel when necessary. After Mother Marianne blocks Haleola from seeing Rachel following Pono’s death, Catherine facilitates meetings, making sure to be at the beach when Haleola is there.

Catherine becomes more complex throughout the novel, as her mother dies by suicide and her sister Polly dies. Shaken to the core of her faith and worried that God has damned her mother and father to Hell, Catherine begins to question her vocation and faith. While she remains a Christian, Catherine tests the boundaries of propriety, helping Rachel to bury Haleola in the traditional Hawaiian fashion, before attempting to die by suicide. Saved by Rachel, Catherine grows closer to Rachel. When Rachel has a baby, she and Kenji name her Ruth, honoring Catherine. As she grows older, she remains at Moloka’i, helping Rachel find solace through a forced adoption and the death of Kenji.

Rachel’s husband, Kenji, runs the store in Kalaupapa. The son of Japanese immigrants, Kenji attended St. Louis College in Honolulu, earning a business degree and landing a job at Halstead and Co., a stockbroker in Honolulu. As his symptoms become apparent, he’s fired, and his family shuns him. He explains to Rachel that the shame he brought on his family will last for generations and affect everyone.

Rachel and Kenji met in Dr. Goodhue’s waiting room, where Kenji sits with a bruised and bloody face. A fighter, Rachel sees Kenji fight later at a baseball game. They finally meet and talk seriously when Kenji attempts to die by suicide, swimming into the rip tide. Rachel saves Kenji with her surfboard, and they fall in love, get married, and have a child that they are forced to give up.

Kenji’s character changes throughout his marriage to Rachel, and he becomes calmer and more centered as he cares for her. Given the opportunity to leave Kalaupapa after six negative skin tests, he refuses because Rachel tests positive. His desire to fight and meet danger remains, and, after the police fail to stop Crossen, their inebriated American neighbor, from physically attacking his girlfriend Felicia, Kenji attempts to stop him. Crossen kills him, and his death, along with Ruth’s forced adoption, depress Rachel more than her other setbacks. At his Buddhist funeral, Rachel learns how many of the inhabitants loved her husband.