An American anthropologist famed for her frank depiction of the “sexual escapades of the Solomons” in her book The Children of Kirakira, Nell Stone is physically diminutive, “nearly a girl, with thin arms and a thick plait down her back” (20). Her dirty, utilitarian clothes, which are often menswear, and “small face and large smoke-coloured eyes, like a cuscus, the small marsupial Kiona children kept as pets” (18) make her appearance a reflection of hardship on the trail. Through Andrew’s first impressions of this woman, who is based on esteemed anthropologist Margaret Mead, King sets up the contradictions between Nell’s heavyweight reputation and her wispy, nubile presence.

Contradiction runs through to Nell’s personality. On the one hand, she is a curious, creative anthropologist who types furiously and works as much as she can; on the other, she is soft-hearted and maternal, delighting in the embraces of the Tam children and allowing Fen to get away with being violent towards her. She desperately wants a healthy child of her own and is heartbroken about her failed attempts to sustain a healthy pregnancy. However, it is this contradiction of traits that allows her to be a “chameleon” amongst the Tam, “with a way of not imitating them but reflecting them” (119-20).