Chapter 70: Chapter III – Summary and Analysis
Spoiler Notice: This analysis covers Chapter 70 of Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil in full detail. It assumes you have read the chapter. If you haven’t, proceed with care.
Summary
Charlotte and Giada, now deeply in love, defy the winter chill to eat gelato. Giada savours lemon while Charlotte finds falling for her the easiest thing she’s ever done. Their days follow a rhythm: modeling and social time for Giada, nightly hunting for Charlotte, and togetherness in between. Charlotte feels genuine happiness for the first time in years and stops dreaming of Sabine.
As they walk arm in arm, an old man hisses at them and hurls slurs. Giada erupts in fury and lunges at him, but Charlotte restrains her and sends her home. Charlotte follows the man across the square and kills him. She finds no satisfaction, only a weariness that echoes her final miserable years in London.
That night in bed, Giada asks what it was like. Charlotte deflects, and Giada then declares she wants to become like Charlotte—immortal, untouchable. She frames it as escape from a world that hates them and a chance to live without fear. Charlotte, thinking of Sabine and the corrupting violence she glimpsed in Giada, calls her condition a curse. She tries to dissuade Giada by reason, but Giada persists with romantic pleas.
Unwilling to turn her lover into a monster, Charlotte uses her vampire’s compulsion to push the wish from Giada’s mind. It works. Giada dramatically relents, and Charlotte vows to want her always, kissing away the questions.
Key Events
- Charlotte and Giada share gelato in the cold, linked in easy affection.
- An old man harasses them; Giada’s rage flares.
- Charlotte sends Giada home and hunts down the man, killing him.
- After the kill, Charlotte feels only a sad weariness reminiscent of London.
- Giada asks to be turned, seeing immortality as power and freedom from fear.
- Charlotte refuses, inwardly citing the weight of the curse, Sabine’s memory, and Giada’s own violent potential.
- Charlotte bends Giada’s mind, compelling her to forget the request.
- Giada drops the subject, and Charlotte promises eternal devotion.
Character Development
Charlotte: This chapter reveals Charlotte’s growing weariness with her predatory nature. The kill gives her no thrill—only leaden sorrow—recalling the depression that marked her last years in London. Her protective instinct toward Giada sharpens into a moral stand: she will not inflict the vampire curse on someone she loves, even when begged. Charlotte uses compulsion not as a weapon of control but as a desperate act to safeguard Giada’s humanity, revealing a line she won’t cross again after Sabine.
Giada: Giada’s fire is both beautiful and frightening. Her reaction to the bigot shows a capacity for righteous fury and physical aggression. Yet beneath that heat lies a vulnerable desire to never be a victim again. Her request for immortality stems from a craving for safety rather than from understanding the curse, and Charlotte’s compulsion erases that desire—raising questions about consent and whether Giada’s future will ever let this seed sprout again.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs Evidenced Here
- Love as Salvation and Burden: Charlotte’s romance with Giada gifts her happiness and sleep without nightmares, yet the love also forces her to confront the curse’s weight and to use her power in morally grey ways.
- The Curse of Immortality: Giada romanticises vampirism as eternal youth and strength, but Charlotte knows it as a heavy burden, especially for someone whose passion could curdle into corrosive rage.
- Compulsion and Consent: Charlotte bending Giada’s mind is framed as an act of love, yet it denies Giada agency. The success of the suggestion highlights the moral ambiguity of a vampire’s power in intimate relationships.
- Bigotry and Resilience: The old man’s phlegmatic hiss and muttered slurs represent a world that refuses to accept their love. Giada’s fury shows the raw cost of that hatred, while Charlotte’s retaliatory violence feels hollow, underscoring that murder cannot fix systemic cruelty.
- Gelato and the Scarf: The shared lemon gelato symbolises fleeting sweetness and normal life. Charlotte’s scarf, a “prop” for her unfeeling body, knotted around Giada becomes an emblem of her protective love—an attempt to shield Giada from cold both literal and emotional.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 70 is a turning point in Charlotte’s modern relationship. For the first time, she exercises her vampire compulsion on a lover she truly cherishes—not out of malice but to prevent the ruin she witnessed with Sabine. It deepens the parallel between past and present, showing that even her hard-won happiness is tainted by the same tensions of control, fear, and the threat of turning intimacy into possession. The chapter also roots Giada’s desire for immortality in a very human response to bigotry, making her plea sympathetic yet dangerous. Charlotte’s refusal, and her mental intervention, will likely resonate through the remaining chapters as Giada’s suppressed wishes linger beneath the surface of their bond.
Study Questions and Answers
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Why does Charlotte refuse to turn Giada, even though she loves her?
Charlotte understands immortality as a curse, not a gift. She fears that Giada’s passionate rage—seen in the alley—would “bloom like rot inside your heart,” corrupting her as it did Sabine. Her refusal is an act of protection, shielding Giada from a fate Charlotte herself laments. -
What role does compulsion play in this chapter, and what are its ethical implications?
Charlotte uses compulsion to make Giada “let go” of her wish for vampirism. On the surface it resolves the immediate conflict, but it strips Giada of her choice. The scene raises questions about whether Charlotte’s love justifies overriding another’s will, and if such a suppressed desire can truly be erased. -
How does the bigoted old man’s attack connect to the chapter’s larger themes?
The harassment exposes the external hatred that threatens their love and fuels Giada’s desire for power. Charlotte’s lethal retaliation provides no catharsis, reinforcing that violence cannot undo systemic prejudice. The incident ties together the thirst for safety, the burden of retaliation, and the tragic reality that even supernatural strength doesn’t free them from a hostile world.