The Octopus: A Story of California

Vanamee, who lost his shepherding job after the train killed the flock of sheep, now works on the Quien Sabe readying the fields for seeding. He experiences a profound moment of connection with the earth while taking part in the plowing, “the wooing of the Titan” (131), and recognizes his place in the wheat’s growth and harvest. After feasting and enjoying the comradery of his fellow workers, he thinks of Angéle and despondently walks to the Mission where she is buried. On the way, he passes the flower farm where she lived and died, and he ponders their idyllic love, “a thing veritably divine” (134).

After Vanamee’s lover died, he became withdrawn, but his connection to nature has led to his developing mysterious spiritual powers; he can summon people to him. At the Mission, Vanamee uses his summoning powers to compel Father Sarria into his presence. Vanamee admits to Sarria that he cannot picture Angéle in heaven, as he can imagine her only as “material, earthly, imperfect” (105). Sarria quotes Corinthians to suggest the idealized spiritual form Vanamee and Angéle will take in heaven. He uses the wheat grain as a symbol of spiritual immortality, but Vanamee is scornful of the idea.