The Light Between Oceans

It is now spring 1929. Bluey, considering marriage, presses Tom about his experiences as a husband and father. This conversation forces Tom to confront again the decision to keep Lucy. While attempting to justify the decision to himself, Tom acknowledges that Hannah has lost a child, but Isabel has lost children too. Tom knows that Isabel wants to do the best for Lucy, but Tom also knows that Lucy meets a need within Isabel and that Isabel’s decision was as selfish as it was selfless. Because Isabel had given up everything to be with him on Janus, Tom feels that it is unfair to deprive her of the happiness Lucy brings.

Tom learns that his father has died. He receives his mother’s locket and a letter from his father written in 1915 after learning that Tom enlisted. In the letter, Tom sees his father in a new light and understands that his father lived by a respectable moral code and that he had been deeply hurt by Tom’s mother. He sees that his father may have been trying to protect him, rather than hurt him.

While out with Lucy one day, Tom accidentally leads them to the place where Frank is buried. Tom is horrified to find Lucy sitting on the mound, calling it her “magic” seat. Tom shouts at her to get off, startling the child. He then explains that it is not a suitable place for Lucy to sit. Tom does not tell Isabel about the incident. He realizes that he has stolen the possibility for Frank to exist for Lucy and that he has caused Lucy’s true ancestry to disappear.

Tom nearly confesses the truth about Lucy to Ralph, but at the last minute he balks. Overcome with emotion and the inability to reconcile his guilt, he cries out in distress. Ralph comforts him, saying that the difference between right and wrong can sometimes be difficult to discern. He advises Tom to do the right things that are within his control and to leave matters out of his control alone.

Tom fears that as Lucy ages, her birth mother will begin to recognize her features. He asks Isabel to describe Hannah, and they argue again about whether to tell Hannah about Lucy. Isabel can imagine Hannah’s torment, but she refuses to accept Tom’s side of the argument. The rift between them grows.

Now four, Lucy’s grasp of the world and her place in it becomes a new burden to Tom; he knows that her understanding of her life is founded on a lie that he helped craft. 

Tom, Isabel, and Lucy return to Partageuse for a special 40th anniversary celebration of the Janus Rock lighthouse, where Tom is shocked to learn that the woman he defended years ago on the boat during his first trip to Point Partageuse is Hannah Potts. The entire Potts family is in attendance because Septimus had paid for the first model of the lighthouse on the island.

The harbormaster’s wife, Mrs. Hasluck, introduces Isabel and Lucy to Gwen and Hannah Potts. Isabel is terrified as Hannah surveys the little girl. When Tom approaches them, it is clear to everyone present that he and Hannah have met before. Hannah asks Tom whether ships ever rescue people far out to sea, thinking of her husband, Frank, and her child, Grace. Tom skirts the question, and Hannah tearfully departs.

That night, Isabel prays for Hannah and prays for help to keep Lucy out of danger. Tom stays out late to avoid Isabel.

Tom and Isabel argue again about Hannah. Tom is astounded by Isabel’s attempt to placate him by suggesting that they tell Hannah the truth when Lucy is much older; Isabel believes that telling Hannah later will make the news less “devastating.”

As Lucy observes them arguing, she is spellbound to hear her father speak at length and with such anger. Tom explains to Isabel that he swore he would never make anyone suffer after what he did in the war and that was his reason for going to Janus in the first place: “I reckoned I could maybe do a bit of good, maybe save some poor bastard from being wrecked” (233). He tells Isabel that after what he had seen in the war, he had thought he was in heaven when he met Isabel, but he makes it clear to her now that their marriage is in jeopardy.

That afternoon, Lucy wanders off and becomes lost. Tom and Isabel are in a panic as they search for her. After they experience what it feels like to fear for their daughter’s safety, the possibility of telling Hannah the truth is swept away.