Leaving Time
“Leaving Time” by Jodi Picoult is a gripping novel that intertwines mystery, grief, and the bond between humans and elephants. The story follows Jenna Metcalf, a 13-year-old girl searching for her mother, Alice, a renowned elephant researcher who disappeared a decade earlier under mysterious circumstances. With the help of a skeptical psychic and a disgraced detective, Jenna uncovers buried secrets about her mother’s work and the tragic events at an elephant sanctuary. The novel explores themes of memory, loss, and maternal love, while weaving in fascinating insights into elephant behavior and emotions. Picoult blends emotional depth with suspense, culminating in a surprising twist that redefines the narrative.
Chapter 12: Alice
byPicoult, Jodi
The chapter opens with the death of Mmaabo, a matriarch elephant, observed by the researcher Alice. Mmaabo’s herd, particularly her daughter Onalenna, attempts to revive her, displaying behaviors that suggest grief, such as prodding her body and vocalizing distress. Another unrelated elephant, Sethunya, arrives and performs a solemn, swaying ritual over Mmaabo’s body, further hinting at cross-herd mourning. Alice meticulously documents these interactions, noting the elephants’ unique identifiers and behaviors, as she shifts her research focus to elephant cognition and emotion, a controversial approach in her field.
Alice reflects on the challenges of studying elephant grief, a topic often dismissed by traditional animal researchers. She argues that understanding complex behaviors requires intricate science, contrasting it with more straightforward disciplines like math or chemistry. Despite her boss Grant’s skepticism, Alice remains committed to her work, believing that elephants exhibit profound emotional responses to death. Her dedication is evident as she sacrifices sleep to record every detail, from the elephants’ return visits to the arrival of other animals near Mmaabo’s corpse.
The narrative intensifies as Onalenna returns to her mother’s body at twilight, standing vigil until interrupted by a Land Rover. Anya, another researcher, informs Alice that Grant needs her, but Alice hesitates, wanting to give the elephants more time to grieve. The scene highlights the tension between scientific obligations and ethical considerations. Onalenna’s protective behavior—warding off a hyena with her trunk—further underscores the depth of her connection to Mmaabo, leaving Alice to ponder the emotional weight of the moment.
The chapter concludes with Alice waking at dawn to find Onalenna gone and scavengers beginning to claim Mmaabo’s body. The imagery of lionesses and vultures contrasts sharply with the earlier scenes of mourning, emphasizing the inevitability of nature’s cycle. Alice’s reluctance to leave reflects her emotional investment in her research, blurring the line between observer and participant. The chapter leaves readers questioning the boundaries of animal emotion and the ethical responsibilities of those who study it.
FAQs
1. What behaviors did Alice observe in elephants responding to Mmaabo’s death, and what do these suggest about elephant cognition?
Answer:
Alice documented several remarkable behaviors that suggest elephants experience complex emotional responses to death. Mmaabo’s daughter Onalenna attempted to lift her mother with her tusks and stayed by the body for hours, vocalizing periodically to her distant herd. Another unrelated matriarch, Sethunya, performed what appeared to be a mourning ritual—stepping over Mmaabo’s body and swaying for six minutes. These behaviors, along with the temporal gland secretions (indicating stress) and protective actions against scavengers, demonstrate cognitive complexity beyond instinct. Alice’s observations challenge traditional scientific boundaries by suggesting elephants may experience grief, form cross-herd social bonds, and engage in ritualistic behavior—all hallmarks of advanced cognition typically associated with humans.2. How does Alice’s research approach differ from conventional elephant studies, and what challenges does this present?
Answer:
Alice’s cognitive-focused research represents a significant departure from conventional elephant studies at the game reserve. While her colleagues study measurable phenomena like migration patterns, reproductive rates, and musth cycles, Alice investigates subjective experiences like grief—qualities that can’t be quantified through GPS tracking or DNA analysis. This approach faces scientific skepticism because attributing human-like emotions to animals violates traditional research boundaries. Her boss Grant dismisses it as a passing phase, reflecting institutional resistance to less tangible behavioral studies. Alice defends her methodology by arguing that complex behaviors require equally sophisticated scientific frameworks, suggesting behavioral science must evolve beyond purely quantitative measures to understand intelligent species fully.3. Analyze the significance of Onalenna’s final interaction with her mother’s body and the hyena. What does this reveal about elephant behavior?
Answer:
Onalenna’s defense of her mother’s corpse against the hyena showcases profound aspects of elephant behavior. By inserting her trunk into Mmaabo’s mouth—a gesture possibly resembling calf nursing—she demonstrates recognition of their relationship even after death. Her violent repulsion of the hyena (using the extendable “accordion” portion of her trunk) goes beyond mere territoriality; it suggests protective behavior toward the deceased, as if preserving Mmaabo’s dignity. The temporal gland secretions indicate physiological stress accompanying these actions. This scene encapsulates Alice’s research focus: elephants display behaviors combining memory, emotional attachment, and social responsibility that transcend simple survival instincts, pointing to sophisticated emotional intelligence.4. How does the chapter use contrasting perspectives (scientific vs. observational) to explore the theme of animal emotion?
Answer:
The chapter creates tension between empirical science and direct observation. While Alice meticulously records measurable data (timing interactions, identifying elephants by physical markers), she simultaneously interprets these as emotional expressions—the “silent dirge,” Onalenna’s vigil, and her own reluctance to notify rangers about the tusks. This duality reflects the scientific conflict: her notes state facts (“six minutes of swaying”), while her narrative voice infers meaning (“a dance without music”). The hyena’s intrusion and the eventual scavenging by lions provide a brutal counterpoint, emphasizing nature’s indifference versus elephants’ apparent reverence. Alice’s internal debate (“which one of us I was trying to convince”) crystallizes the struggle to reconcile objective study with subjective experience in animal behavior research.5. What broader ethical questions does Alice’s research raise about human interaction with elephants?
Answer:
Alice’s work implicitly challenges anthropocentric views of emotion and morality. By documenting cross-herd mourning (Sethunya’s visitation), she suggests elephant societies may have communal values extending beyond kinship. Her hesitation to report Mmaabo’s death to rangers—knowing they’ll remove the tusks—reflects ethical tension between conservation protocols and respecting animal grief processes. The chapter prompts reflection: if elephants experience loss akin to humans, what responsibilities do researchers have in disrupting mourning rituals? Should protective measures (like tusk removal) consider emotional impacts? Alice’s observations invite reevaluation of how human interventions, even well-intentioned ones, might disregard the complex emotional lives of intelligent species we study and aim to protect.
Quotes
1. “How Onalenna and the others in the herd had made sounds of distress, had tried to prod their leader with their trunks and their bodies, pushing and pulling at Mmaabo’s corpse.”
This quote vividly captures the elephants’ grief response to death, illustrating the emotional complexity and social bonds within elephant herds. It sets the stage for the chapter’s exploration of elephant cognition and mourning behaviors.
2. “No matter how many times I recorded instances of elephants touching another elephant’s skull, or returning to the site where a former herd member died, the moment I interpreted that as grief, I was crossing a line animal researchers were not supposed to cross.”
This statement highlights the scientific tension between objective observation and attributing human-like emotions to animals. It represents the chapter’s central conflict about studying elephant cognition within traditional research paradigms.
3. “The more complex a behavior is, the more rigorous and complicated the science behind it. Math, chemistry, that’s the easy stuff—closed models with discrete answers.”
This quote articulates the narrator’s defense of her unconventional research approach, arguing that studying complex behaviors requires equally sophisticated methodologies. It underscores the chapter’s theme about the challenges of studying animal cognition.
4. “Onalenna slipped her trunk into her mother’s mouth… She popped that hyena so hard it went rolling away from Mmaabo’s corpse, whimpering.”
These powerful observations demonstrate both the tenderness and protective instincts elephants display toward their dead. They provide compelling evidence for the narrator’s research into elephant grief behaviors.
5. “You’re going to have to let her go,’ I said out loud, but I am not sure which one of us I was trying to convince.”
This poignant closing reflection blurs the line between observer and subject, suggesting the narrator’s own emotional investment in the elephants’ mourning process. It encapsulates the chapter’s exploration of interspecies empathy.