Anna and Staines: Love Without Proof

The Luminaries

This thread traces a relationship that moves from a paid encounter to love, separation, intuitive connection, and a reunion under confinement.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Meeting on the Ship A Meeting on the Ship from "The Luminaries". A Meeting on the Ship Two arrivals cross paths Anna Wetherell and Emery Staines travel from Sydney aboard Fortunate Wind.

A Meeting on the Ship from "The Luminaries". A Meeting on the Ship Two arrivals cross paths Anna Wetherell and Emery Staines travel from Sydney aboard Fortunate Wind.

A Meeting on the Ship Two arrivals cross paths Anna Wetherell and Emery Staines travel from Sydney aboard Fortunate Wind. Their brief encounter on deck gives each a first impression of the other. A remembered beginning Anna recalls the albatrosses and Staines’s talk of solitude. The meeting later feels like an intimate origin neither could have predicted.

A Night Together A Night Together from "The Luminaries". A Night Together A paid arrangement shifts Staines pays for Anna’s company, but the evening becomes more personal than a transaction.

A Night Together from "The Luminaries". A Night Together A paid arrangement shifts Staines pays for Anna’s company, but the evening becomes more personal than a transaction.

A Night Together A paid arrangement shifts Staines pays for Anna’s company, but the evening becomes more personal than a transaction. They discuss love and the possibility of mutual feeling. Separation interrupts confession Anna leaves while Staines sleeps, intending to return. Before they can clarify their feelings, both are swept into separate crises.

Love Through Absence Love Through Absence from "The Luminaries". Love Through Absence Anna mourns a missing man Anna remains convinced Staines is not simply gone, though she has no ordinary evidence of his survival.

Love Through Absence from "The Luminaries". Love Through Absence Anna mourns a missing man Anna remains convinced Staines is not simply gone, though she has no ordinary evidence of his survival.

Love Through Absence Anna mourns a missing man Anna remains convinced Staines is not simply gone, though she has no ordinary evidence of his survival. Her private feelings become entangled with uncertainty. A promised future A deed discovered by Devlin suggests Staines meant to give Anna half the gold. The paper makes affection appear both material and legally fragile.

A Reunion at the Gaol A Reunion at the Gaol from "The Luminaries". A Reunion at the Gaol Staines returns wounded After Tauwhare finds him, Staines is brought to Hokitika.

A Reunion at the Gaol from "The Luminaries". A Reunion at the Gaol Staines returns wounded After Tauwhare finds him, Staines is brought to Hokitika.

A Reunion at the Gaol Staines returns wounded After Tauwhare finds him, Staines is brought to Hokitika. He asks for Anna and is allowed to see her at the Police Camp. Affection survives confusion Their reunion is tender despite his fever and memory loss. Anna’s health begins to improve once he is present and alive.

Love Faces Judgment Love Faces Judgment from "The Luminaries". Love Faces Judgment Their accounts converge in court Staines admits he intended to give Anna half the fortune and says he trusts her.

Love Faces Judgment from "The Luminaries". Love Faces Judgment Their accounts converge in court Staines admits he intended to give Anna half the fortune and says he trusts her.

Love Faces Judgment Their accounts converge in court Staines admits he intended to give Anna half the fortune and says he trusts her. Anna describes loving him and wanting to leave prostitution. Separation takes another form Staines receives a labour sentence, while Anna is acquitted. Their bond persists, but it must endure imprisonment and financial consequences.

April 1865

Evening of 14 January 1866

Late January to February 1866

20 March 1866

27 April 1866