Chapters 6-8Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 6 Summary
Abitha and Father, who’s now calling himself Samson, sit outside her house and discuss divinity. Samson wonders if he might be some type of god. Later, Abitha goes into town where Helen tells her that she looks “radiant”; Helen also tells her about a woman who was killed while picking berries, but her bucket was never found. This information troubles Abitha, given the recent bucket of berries she received from Father. While sitting in mass, Abitha reasons that Samson cannot be evil because he was made by God. She notices that Reverend Carter leaves the mass early; she follows him outside to give him honeycomb candy, and he tells her that he’s been distracted because his daughter has measles.
Meanwhile, Forest has snuck into Abitha’s house. He plans to summon snakes to bite her when she gets into bed, but he finds that he no longer has the power. Figuring that he needs more help to dispose of Abitha, Forest heads outside where he sees Wallace coming. When Wallace arrives at the farm with the intent of trampling Abitha’s corn with his horse, he sees the ghostly figure of Edward; he flees in fear.
Abitha returns to the farm after Wallace has fled.
