Love Medicine: The Plunge of the Brave Summary & Analysis

For as long as Nector Kashpaw can remember, he has had everything he ever wanted. He used to think that it was because he is Kashpaw, the final hereditary leaders of his North Dakota tribe, but he pretty much got what he wanted off the reservation too. He has always been handsome, and as a young man he was given roles in the movies in Hollywood. The only problem was the directors always wanted him to fall dead from a horse. A famous painter even painted his portrait once. The painting is called The Plunge of the Brave, and it hangs in the Bismarck state capital. It depicts a naked Native American (Nector) jumping to his death from a cliff to a rocky river below.

When Nector first saw The Plunge of the Brave, he thought of Custer’s saying—“the only good Indian is a dead Indian”—and he refused to die on those painted rocks. He would make it out of the painting. Each year at the government school, Nector was made to read Moby Dick, and he began to see the story as a metaphor for his circumstances. Just like Ishmael survived the great white whale, Nector was determined to get out of The Plunge of the Brave.

Years before, Nector had fallen in love with Lulu Nanapush. She was just what he wanted, and they would sneak behind the dance house and kiss. Then, Nector met Marie, and it was all over. Even now, Nector doesn’t understand it. He went up the hill to sell two geese and came back down still holding the geese—and Marie’s hand.

The years passed quickly and the children grew. Nector started drinking and “caught holy hell” from Marie for it. One day in 1952, Nector suddenly realized that his life was passing him by. He had done what was expected of him—married, had kids, even became the chairman of the tribe—but he felt as if the life had been “squeezed” from him. He began to think of Lulu. He had never really gotten over her, and the more miserable he became, the more he thought about her. 

On the hottest day in July of 1952, the reservation received an unexpected shipment of surplus butter. Nector suddenly found himself with 17 tons of melting butter and nowhere to store it. It had to be delivered quickly, but he would need air conditioning. Just then, Lulu drove by in her fancy custom car. Nector yelled to her, asking if her car had AC, and she agreed to help him deliver the butter. They hadn’t seen each other in years, and Lulu thought Nector looked old, but they made easy small talk. Near the end of the day, Nector asked Lulu to forgive him for the way he had treated her in the past, and they were suddenly locked in a passionate kiss, rolling around in melted butter.

Nector had a job as a night watchman at a local plant, and he worked five nights a week. On the sixth night, he would leave for work as usual, but he would go to Lulu’s instead. Their affair continued for five years, until Lulu became pregnant again. Nector didn’t know for sure the child was his, and he never asked (he suspected that Lulu saw other men, but what could he say about that when he was married himself?). The boy sure looked like a Kashpaw, though.

Now, in 1957, Nector knows that Beverly Lamartine has been visiting Lulu as well, and Nector is insanely jealous, but he still can’t bring himself to leave Marie. Nector drives to the lake and strips naked. He submerges himself in the cool water and tries to forget about Lulu. Breaking the surface of the water, Nector is determined to get back to his life.

In the meantime, an area redevelopment plan is presented to the tribal council. Lulu’s house is right in the middle of land the tribe wants to put a factory on, and since the Lamartines are squatting on the land, Lulu doesn’t technically own it. As Nector signs the eviction notice as the chairman of the tribe, he knows that he must get Lulu back. At home, Nector writes two letters—one to Marie, telling her he is leaving her for Lulu, and one to Lulu, confessing his undying love and intention to leave his wife—and then he sleeps like a baby.

The next day, Nector wakes to find Marie has already left to run errands. He places her letter under the sugar bowl on the kitchen table and heads to Lulu’s house. It is obvious no one is home, so he lights a cigarette and waits. He takes Lulu’s letter from his pocket and reads it over and over again, thinking about Marie and the letter under the sugar bowl. Nector crumples Lulu’s letter and throws it to the ground, where it is inadvertently ignited by the lit end of a cigarette. Nector watches the letter burn, and while he doesn’t do anything to help it along, he doesn’t try to put it out either. Soon, Lulu’s entire house is engulfed in flames, and Nector knows there is nothing he can do to stop it.