Fast forward to a small rented room at the mouth of the Mississippi River where we meet what appears to be two adventurous young lovers. One is Ojibwe ex-soldier Cyprian and the other Polish farm girl Delphine Watzka. They have just come from Argus, North Dakota to try their hand at starting a traveling theatrical act. Both of them are strong, and full of curiosity for the other. They are also both contemplating the nuances of their developing relationship. Delphine wants Cyprian for his chiseled body and because he is attentive to her in a way that no other man has been; Cyprian wants Delphine for her alluring personality and caring nature...and perhaps little else.
In Delphine's eyes, Cyprian is the "ideal picture of manliness" (Erdrich 15), but she is confused by his "lack of sexual heat" (Erdrich 17). It became evident to me, however, that this is not as important to Delphine as simply having a man to dote upon who actually respects her. Her quest for fatherly affection has led her to base her feelings for a man solely on whether or not he is attentive to her, as the reader begins to see the more he is described: "in spite of his destructive idiocy when in his cups, she harbored an undying fondness for Roy Watzka..." (Erdrich 18). He is a drunken philanderer unworthy of his daughter's unending support, and she is a lonely girl who has learned to expect very little from a man, but to give everything.
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