Fall on your Knees

Content Warning: This section contains graphic depictions of war violence.

James prepares to head off to war, certain that exiling himself is the only way to save Kathleen from his obsession with her. He wants a photograph to take with him. The session with the photographer ends up with father and daughter smiling, playfully posing for the photo as Materia looks on in growing disgust.

To Materia’s horror, her third daughter Lily dies from crib death (now known as sudden infant death syndrome) soon after she is born. Materia struggles to understand God’s plan. James ships out with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in December 1915. Materia prays that her husband will be killed “quickly and painlessly” (84), thus protecting Kathleen.

With James gone, Materia bonds with her three daughters. She tells them about the beautiful land of Lebanon, but assures them they are better off here “on this damp gray rock in the Atlantic” (86). Materia receives a box from her estranged sister Camille that contains a wax record of Lebanese songs. Materia delights in playing the record for her daughters, the four of them dancing exuberantly to the “exotic” music.