chunk: Yet Paul and Virginia manage to reach a nearby island in the cutter. (Shipwreck on a deserted island, as a start for a new and better society, is a staple in the utopian genre â as in the Spensonia books of Thomas Spence, among other possible examples.) Paul finds a deserted house built from wreckage; it is a comfortable and neatly furnished cottage, and the two survivors move in. Virginia is deeply distraught over their recent tragedy â but her state of mind improves when she realizes that the largest trunk in her luggage is on the cutter. The tinned meats and champagne also come in handy.