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Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm

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Jenny Kaplan and this is Wamanica.

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Historically, women have been told to make themselves

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smaller, to diminish themselves. Some

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have used that idea to their advantage, disappearing

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into new identities. For

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others, a disappearance was the end of their stories,

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but the beginning of a new chapter of their legacies.

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This month, we're telling the stories of these women. We're

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talking about disappearing acts. Sometimes

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people don't disappear by choice. In

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fifteen forty two, a French ship sailed

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away from a remote island along the coast

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of modern day Canada. From

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its deck, sailors could make out the figures

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of three people standing on the shoreline.

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The captain had spoken the

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crew was leaving a young woman and her two companions

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behind on the unsettled island,

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with its wild beasts and foul weather. They

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were sure to vanish from history, but

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somehow one of them survived.

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Let's talk about Marguerite de la Raque.

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We don't know much about Marguerite's personal history,

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except that she was born in the early sixteenth century

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in France. We also know that she

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was related to Jean Francois de la Roque,

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a powerful noble in the French court, he

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was more commonly referred to by his title

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Sieur de Roberval. In

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fifteen forty two, Roberval captained

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of voyage to a colony in present day Quebec.

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Back then, Canada was still a French colony.

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Marguerite accompanied him, but her presence

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on board the ship ended in scandal. Roberval

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discovered Marguerite was having a secret affair

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with a young man aboard whose identity

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is not known. Roberval condemned

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his young relative's promiscuity and delivered

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a harsh punishment. He

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ordered his crew to row Marguerite and her handmaid

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Demienne out to an unsettled

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island on the Saint Lawrence River. It

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was called Eel de des Mondes, the

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Isle of Demons. Rumors

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swirled that the place was evil and haunted,

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and Robervl wha all was marooning Marguerite and

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Damienne there with no plan to ever return.

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As the crew prepared to leave the two women behind

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stranded, Marguerite's

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lover leaped off the boat to join her in exile.

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Other stories speculate that he forced his way off

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the ship against Reberval's wishes. Another

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theory is that he was forced at gunpoint to join

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his paramour and banishment. Those

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details have been lost to time. We

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do know that as Rubberval sailed away, he left

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three behind with only some food and a

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few firearms to aid them in survival.

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It was a desperate situation, even

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in the summer months. The island was cold by

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evening, Unfamiliar

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wild animals howled furiously at night,

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and the small party fought wirelessly to keep

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them at bay. Their

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days were spent scouting around rock pools

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for fresh water and foraging for food. Marguerite's

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lover built a signal fire to alert any passing

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ships to their presence, but

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months passed and no help came. Soon,

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Marguerite realized she was pregnant. At

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first, she held on to hope that they would be rescued

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and she and her lover could raise their newborn together

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back in France, But

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as their baby's birth approached, the young man

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fell ill. With no medical

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attention and so little food, he

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died. As

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winter approached, the two women continued to struggle

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against the harsh climate. Marguerite

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learned to hunt with the guns left behind by rubber

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val bringing down caribou and bears

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for sustenance. When

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the baby was born, an extra mouth to feed

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became an even greater strain. Desmienne

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grew weaker and more hopeless. She

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died too. Now

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just Marguerite was left to try and keep her baby

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alive, but

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it was no use. The conditions were too rough.

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Marguerite buried all three of the souls that had

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ended up on the Isle of Demons. With her alone

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and exhausted, Marguerite grew more

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desperate. She was sure she'd die on

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the island as well. With no one left to dig

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her grave, she

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continued to hunt wild game, dressing herself

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in fur and skins for warmth. At

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night, she fought off predators in the dark by

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herself. Then,

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more than two years into her exile on the Isle

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of Demons, a fishing ship appeared on the horizon.

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As the boat drew nearer, the crew on board

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must have thought she was one of the demons said to haunt

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the island. She looked the

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part, ragged and hungry and dressed

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in animal skins, But

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no, she was still just a frenchwoman, one

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who need to be rescued. The

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fishermen took her on board, and Marguerite

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sailed with them back to France. Against

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all odds, she had refused to disappear

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into the Canadian wilderness. Marguerite's

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story of survival was recorded by two contemporaries,

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Andrea Taveai, a Catholic clergyman,

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and Queen Marguerite de Navarre. Their

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versions remain the clearest pictures we have of

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what Marguerite experienced on the island, but

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both tales were likely influenced by her banisher

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Roberval's perspective and were not edited

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by Marguerite herself, so

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it's hard to know what details were changed, added

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or left out. The tale has

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been retold and fictionalized many times

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throughout history, but the full story

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of Marguerite's exile remains a mystery.

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Even the Isle of Demons has vanished today,

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we're not sure exactly which present day Canadian

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island it was. All

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month we're talking about disappearing acts. For

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more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram

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at Wamanica Podcast special thanks

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to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co creator.

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Talk to you tomorrow.