Great Circle

A woman is born at the end of the 18th century in a Native American community. At the age of 13, she marries Boisverd, the white servant of a mapmaker. He beats her when she is frequently unfaithful to him, but she fights back. She is sent back to her people alone. When she arrives home, she tells everyone that the white people have changed her into a man. Now a man, he becomes something of a prophet. He predicts giants and diseases, and he offers to perform protective spells “for the right price” (85). The prophet takes a wife, someone who understands his past, and they travel the country together. She is not faithful to him, and he beats her. He drinks heavily and begins to make money from more optimistic promises. He has many names, including Gone-to-the-Spirits, Bundosh, and Bowdash. Eventually, he calls himself Sitting-in-the-Water-Grizzly in reference to his tendency to sit down in water to hide his genitals from others. He is eventually killed in a disagreement between tribes. 

In the wake of her scandal, Hadley is forced to meet with studio executives and Gwendolyn, the author of the Archangel books. Gwendolyn still mistakes Oliver for the “dorky sex fantasy” (89) whom he plays in her stories, so she does not forgive Hadley’s infidelity.