Short Fiction · Chapter
VI explained
Jack Barr confronts Martin Kesserich on the island, rescues Mary Alice Pope from an attempted murder by Hani and Hilda, and learns the shocking truth that Mary is a parthenogenetic clone of the original Mary Alice Pope, created by Kesserich
What happens
Jack Barr confronts Martin Kesserich on the island, rescues Mary Alice Pope from an attempted murder by Hani and Hilda, and learns the shocking truth that Mary is a parthenogenetic clone of the original Mary Alice Pope, created by Kesserich. A violent struggle ensues on the rocks, leading to Mary's return to save Kesserich and Jack's unconscious fall.
Themes in this chapter
Science and Ethics
Kesserich's creation of a human clone raises profound ethical questions about identity and manipulation.
Identity and Illusion
Mary's cloned identity and the illusion of her past life are central to the conflict.
Love and Possession
Jack and Kesserich both claim Mary, treating her as an object of possession rather than a person.
Violence and Survival
The attempted murder by car, the struggle on the rocks, and Jack's injury highlight the violent stakes.
Characters to notice
- Jack Barr
Rescues Mary, confronts Kesserich, and fights to take her away; knocked unconscious by the boom.
- Mary Alice Pope
The cloned Mary, confused and torn between Jack and Kesserich; returns to save Kesserich from the surf.
- Martin Kesserich
Reveals Mary is a parthenogenetic clone; charges after Mary and is caught in the rocks.
- Mrs. Kesserich
Mentioned as having told Jack the truth about Mary's origin.
- Hani
One of Kesserich's sisters; attempts to kill Mary with the car and laughs cruelly.
- Hilda
The other sister; stands with Hani and laughs at Kesserich's anguish.
Key passages
“I have done the same thing with a human being. This girl is Mary Alice Pope. She has exactly the same heredity.”
Kesserich claims he created a human clone of Mary Alice Pope through parthenogenesis.
Reveals the central scientific twist of the chapter.
“You’ve wasted a third of a lifetime looking forward to an irrational revenge. And you’ve failed.”
Kesserich tells his sisters their eighteen-year wait for revenge has been pointless.
Highlights the sisters' long-held hatred and Kesserich's dismissal.
“Ah, love, let us be true To one another! for the world—”
Kesserich quotes Matthew Arnold's 'Dover Beach' as he struggles in the surf.
Connects the romantic tragedy to literary allusion.