Angle of Repose

Oliver and Susan are separated, perhaps purposefully so. Lyman describes Susan’s writing at the time as being “like a widow mending a torn life” (464). She writes to Augusta, praising her children and their new environment. In 1889, there is the possibility that the irrigation project is renewed. Susan will not return from Vancouver Island, however, as her hopes have “been dashed so many times” (467). In August 1889, Susan finally reunites with Oliver in Idaho. The children are excited to return but the relationship between Susan and Oliver is muted. They take an awkward wagon ride to their new home: a large ranch house that Oliver has been working on in secret, exactly according to the plans they had made together. Oliver has sold the old cabin for a profit, used it to build the new house, and invited a few of Susan’s family friends out to invest in the local land. The ranch is not quite finished, however, and Oliver admits that it is a “pretty primitive” (473) work-in-progress. Susan finds it difficult to feign enthusiasm, however. Many years will have to pass before the dusty locale is anything like the lush green vista she had imagined. Most of the people who were in the canyon have returned but the name Frank lingers unspoken between Susan and Oliver.