SPEAKER_00: Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Womanica.Historically, women have been told to make themselves smaller, to diminish themselves.Some have used that idea to their advantage, disappearing into new identities.For others, a disappearance was the end of their stories, but the beginning of a new chapter of their legacies.This month, we're telling the stories of these women.We're talking about disappearing acts.Sometimes people don't disappear by choice. from a remote island along the coast of modern-day Canada.From its deck, sailors could make out the figures of three people standing on the shoreline.The captain had spoken.
The crew was leaving a young woman and her two companions behind on the unsettled island.With its wild beasts and foul weather, they were sure to vanish from history.But somehow, one of them survived.Let's talk about Marguerite de la Roque. We don't know much about Marguerite's personal history, except that she was born in the early 16th century in France.We also know that she was related to Jean-François de la Roque, a powerful noble in the French court.He was more commonly referred to by his title, Sieur de Raberval.In 1542, Raberval captained a voyage to a colony in present-day Quebec.Back then, Canada was still a French colony.Marguerite accompanied him, but her presence on board the ship ended in scandal.
Rabarval discovered Marguerite was having a secret affair with a young man aboard, whose identity is not known.Rabarval condemned his young relative's promiscuity and delivered a harsh punishment.He ordered his crew to row Marguerite and her handmaid, Damienne, out to an unsettled island on the St.Lawrence River.It was called Île de Damon, the Isle of Demons.Rumors swirled that the place was evil and haunted. And Rabarval was marooning Marguerite and Damien there, with no plan to ever return.As the crew prepared to leave the two women behind, stranded, Marguerite's lover leapt off the boat to join her in exile.Other stories speculate that he forced his way off the ship against Rabarval's wishes.Another theory is that he was forced at gunpoint to join his paramour in banishment.
Those details have been lost to time. We do know that as Rabarval sailed away, he left three behind, with only some food and a few firearms to aid them in survival.It was a desperate situation.Even in the summer months, the island was cold by evening. Unfamiliar wild animals howled furiously at night, and the small party fought tirelessly to keep them at bay.Their days were spent scouting around rock pools for fresh water and foraging for food.Marguerite's lover built a signal fire to alert any passing ships to their presence.But months passed and no help came.Soon, Marguerite realized she was pregnant. At first, she held on to hope that they would be rescued, and she and her lover could raise their newborn together back in France.
But as their baby's birth approached, the young man fell ill.With no medical attention and so little food, he died.As winter approached, the two women continued to struggle against the harsh climate.Marguerite learned to hunt with the guns left behind by Robert Val, bringing down caribou and bears for sustenance. When the baby was born, an extra mouth to feed became an even greater strain.Damien grew weaker and more hopeless.She died, too.Now, just Marguerite was left to try and keep her baby alive.But it was no use.The conditions were too rough.
Marguerite buried all three of the souls that had ended up on the Isle of Demons with her. Alone and exhausted, Marguerite grew more desperate.She was sure she'd die on the island as well, with no one left to dig her grave.She continued to hunt wild game, dressing herself in fur and skins for warmth.At night, she fought off predators in the dark by herself.Then more than two years into her exile on the Isle of Demons, a fishing ship appeared on the horizon. As the boat drew nearer, the crew on board must have thought she was one of the demons said to haunt the island.She looked the part, ragged and hungry and dressed in animal skins.But no, she was still just a French woman, one who needed to be rescued.The fishermen took her on board, and Marguerite sailed with them back to France.
Against all odds, she had refused to disappear into the Canadian wilderness. Marguerite's story of survival was recorded by two contemporaries, André Thévé, a Catholic clergyman, and Queen Marguerite de Navarre.Their versions remain the clearest pictures we have of what Marguerite experienced on the island.But both tales were likely influenced by her banisher, Robert Val's perspective, and were not edited by Marguerite herself.So, it's hard to know what details were changed, added, or left out. The tale has been retold and fictionalized many times throughout history.But the full story of Marguerite's exile remains a mystery.Even the Isle of Demons has vanished.Today, we're not sure exactly which present-day Canadian island it was.All month, we're talking about disappearing acts.
For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram, at Womanica Podcast.Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.Talk to you tomorrow.
