The Antilles Fragments of Epic Memory by Walcott

Maud is portrayed as nostalgic as she longs for the music and seasons of her homeland, ‘â€Å"I miss the light northern rain, I miss the seasons,’ / Maud moaned implying that the climate lacked subtlety†(48). This is an emotion that many wives of colonizers felt as they were torn from their home to follow their husband out of love and support. Her character is minor, but it symbolizes the dilemma that Walcott himself goes through. She has an attachment for her European customs and longs to return home, yet she has made St. Lucia her home. Walcott accepts the past for what it was—horrific, but he embraces the influences that have made him one of the â€Å"exotic hybrids† (â€Å"The Muse of History† 56). Maud is an exotic hybrid as she has adapted to the culture of St. Lucia by fusing it with aspects from her homeland. Ireland is her home, but so is St. Lucia. Walcott describes that there were many aspects of St. Lucia that Maud could do without such as, â€Å"moisture rotting their library†¦rain flies...the velocity of passenger transports† (61-62). Yet there are many things that she has grown to love: â€Å"[the] elate sunrise would flood Maud’s garden, pouring relentless / light in angelic lilies†¦Ã¢â‚¬ËœIt’s so still. Its like Adam and Eve all over,’ / Maud whispered, ‘Before the snake. Without all the sin’† (62-63). She is indeed a true citizen of St. Lucia as she complains about the tourists in the same way the locals do. There is also an interesting relationship between Helen and Maud.