A Sorceress Comes to Call Chapter 20 Summary and Analysis
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
After a strained dinner, the party retires to the parlor. The Squire suddenly announces that Evangeline has agreed to marry him. Hester is horrified but hides her reaction. Cordelia, under her mother’s obedience, acts unnaturally joyful, though her eyes betray terror. Hester sees that Evangeline is controlling Cordelia like a puppet. She feigns approval and uses a ruse to send Cordelia away, then whispers to Imogene that she will explain later. Alone in her room, Cordelia collapses from exhaustion. Later, she hears a telepathic whisper calling her name, possibly from the deceased Penelope Green, and mentally shouts for it to stop.
Key Events
- The Squire announces his engagement to Evangeline, stunning the company.
- Hester experiences a wave of dread and a sense of failure, but resolves to fight.
- Cordelia is forced into a performance of girlish excitement, though her eyes show pure horror.
- Hester notices that Cordelia’s behaviour exactly matches the “obedience” described earlier, confirming Evangeline is puppeteering her.
- Imogene helps Hester retreat upstairs, sensing something is wrong.
- Hester sends Cordelia on a fabricated errand to create distance.
- Cordelia, once alone, recovers from the obedience and hears a strange voice in her mind calling her name.
Character Development
- Hester moves from passive anxiety to active resolve. Despite feeling powerless, she stiffens her spine and decides to fight Doom without waiting for Richard’s return. Her quick thinking in sending Cordelia away shows growing cunning.
- Cordelia endures the obedience but is left wrung out and terrified. The mental whisper reveals she may have latent psychic sensitivity, possibly tied to Penelope Green.
- Imogene becomes an ally. Her sharp observation and willingness to assist Hester without full knowledge mark her as a reliable conspirator.
- Evangeline is shown to be capable of controlling her daughter remotely, even while maintaining her own pleasant facade. Her victory feels almost complete.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Loss of Autonomy: Cordelia’s forced performance is the clearest example yet of Evangeline’s sorcery robbing her of will. The image of her eyes screaming while her mouth speaks pleasantries is a powerful symbol of psychological imprisonment.
- Social Performance: Everyone in the parlor participates in a charade of celebration, with Hester and Imogene forced to hide their true reactions. The gap between public appearance and private reality is a running motif.
- The “Rabbit in a Trap”: Hester compares Cordelia to a rabbit that bites when cornered, underscoring the survival instinct that persists even under total control.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 20 marks the climax of Evangeline’s social manoeuvring. The engagement is announced, and her control over Cordelia is no longer deniable—Hester sees it with her own eyes. This forces Hester to shift from gathering proof to immediate action, raising the stakes. At the same time, Cordelia’s experience of a telepathic voice introduces a new supernatural element, hinting that the book’s magic system may include mental communication. This thread will likely prove crucial in the chapters to come.
Study Questions and Answers
1. What does Hester notice about Cordelia’s behaviour that confirms her mother is controlling her?
Hester remembers that Cordelia’s laugh is usually a tiny, timid sound, but during the engagement announcement she giggles and tosses her head like a girlish caricature. The same forced act occurred at the terrible earlier dinner. This repetition, combined with Cordelia’s terrified eyes, convinces Hester that Evangeline is working her body like a puppet.
2. How does Hester hide her true feelings about the engagement from Evangeline?
Hester rambles in a flustered, cheerful manner, claiming she is “quite faint” from surprise. She asks Imogene to help her upstairs and sends Cordelia on a fake errand for a hot compress, allowing her to separate the girl from her mother without arousing suspicion.
3. What happens to Cordelia after she is alone in her room, and what might the voice signify?
After the obedience lapses, Cordelia feels exhausted and hides under the covers. She then hears a faint mental whisper asking if she is listening, which she mentally orders to stop. The voice is probably Penelope Green, who may have retained some ability to communicate from beyond death, or a new psychic power awakening in Cordelia.