Michael and Joan make it to France in The Space Between Section 10. Michael’s care for Joan doesn’t stop here.
We continue to see the man that Ian and Jenny raised. Michael is kind and thoughtful. He wants to make sure Joan is prepared for life in France, and that means making sure she turns up at the convent in the best state. At least, the best state physically.
Breaking down The Space Between Section 10
Joan and Michael are on their way from the docks to Michael’s house. They are in the coach, and Joan is shocked and full of misery after everything that happened. It was a suicide on the boat, and that is something that is now sitting with her.
The smell brings her back to the real world. It’s wretched, and Michael explains that it is from the public cemeteries. People are buried in a swamp. When that swamp floods with the rain and the coffins fall apart, the smell of the bodies comes out. It’s enough to make anyone sick.
Joan has already vomited all over her dress. This happened when the body of the man who took his own life is brought back onto the deck. Michael didn’t want her going to the convent with traces of sick on her dress, so he decided to take him to her house. This will allow her time to change and to eat something.
There is also a selfish element to the decision. He doesn’t want to walk into the house alone for the first time. This is the first time he’s gone back after the death of his wife.
I can’t really blame him for wanting someone else there with him. He and Joan may not be close, but she is someone who has listened and understands. She’s a kind soul, and she is someone he has been able to open up to a little.
Could this chapter be used in a TV adaptation?
I still don’t see The Space Between being developed into a TV show. If it is, I could see this chapter being used. It gives us a look at Paris, and just how bad some areas could be. We need to see Joan realize that the likely romanticized opinion she’s had of Paris isn’t all that great. Don’t we all have these romanticized views of places only to find out they’re not exactly like the stories others have told?
This is also great to give us a look at Michael more as a character. We get to see his kindness and the way he was raised. I’m sure there would end up with people shipping them, but I just adore seeing a man being a gentleman without wanting anything in return—except someone to be in his empty house with him the first time he goes back after losing his wife.
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