Chapter 38 Summary: Jessica Grapples with Motherhood and Confronts the Past

⚠️ 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 Anna’s meeting, the three sisters go to a crowded pub. The detectives, Hando and Patel, join them despite the women’s reluctance. Patel asks why none of them have children. Alicia deflects by citing her social work; Jessica internally explains her ambivalence, revealing a fantasy of raising a child Norah might have. Norah returns with drinks as Miss Fairchild appears. A verbal confrontation escalates when Norah flips a table and grabs Miss Fairchild by the lapels. The detectives intervene too slowly, and Miss Fairchild accuses Norah of assault, claiming she is the one who has always hidden violence. Alicia and Jessica pull Norah away as Miss Fairchild paints Norah as uncontrollable and her sisters as enablers.

Key Events

Norah pushes through the bar line to get drinks.
Hando and Patel join the table despite the women’s no-talk directive.
Patel asks each sister why they have no children; each gives a different evasion.
Jessica silently reflects on her lack of desire to actively have kids, and her fantasy about raising Norah’s child.
Miss Fairchild enters and theatrically approaches their table.
Norah sarcastically suggests she order the chicken.
Alicia confronts Miss Fairchild about the damaging interview.
Miss Fairchild insists on justice for the child buried under the house.
Norah demands Miss Fairchild say the child’s name; Miss Fairchild refuses and calls Norah violent.
Norah flips the table and physically grabs Miss Fairchild.
Hando belatedly separates them; Miss Fairchild accuses Norah of assault.
Alicia and Jessica physically escort Norah out of the pub as Miss Fairchild speaks to the police.

Character Development

Jessica: Her inner monologue reveals deep uncertainty about motherhood. She admits she never tried to get pregnant, and that the idea of actively deciding to have a child feels overwhelming. Her fantasy about raising Norah’s child shows she craves maternal purpose without the weight of choice. In the confrontation, Jessica feels physically sluggish and unable to intervene quickly, highlighting her emotional and bodily disconnection from the present.
Norah: Her impulsiveness and fury are on full display. She cannot control her reaction to Miss Fairchild’s provocations, flipping furniture and grabbing her. Miss Fairchild’s charge that Norah was always violent echoes long-held accusations, and Norah’s response proves she is still prone to explosive behavior.
Alicia: She orders the drinks, tries to de-escalate, and physically restrains Norah. Her response to Patel about having thousands of foster kids as a social worker feels like a practiced deflection, and Jessica suspects she has never seriously considered fostering.
Miss Fairchild: She manipulates the situation perfectly. Her appearance seems accidental but is deliberate. She baits Norah into physical aggression, then immediately plays the victim to the detectives, reinforcing the narrative that Norah is dangerous and her sisters cover for her.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Motherhood by choice vs. circumstance: Jessica’s fantasy of raising Norah’s child without having to decide to become pregnant contrasts sharply with the expectation of deliberate motherhood. Alicia’s career as a social worker is presented as an alternative form of parenting, while Norah’s aversion to children is clear.
Control and manipulation: Miss Fairchild orchestrates the entire scene. She enters at the perfect moment, uses language that triggers Norah, and immediately shapes the police’s perception of events. Her calm accusation of assault is a calculated trap.
Public confrontation as exposure: The crowded pub setting forces the sisters’ private history into public view. The detectives, other patrons, and the horse-race television become an audience for the drama, amplifying the stakes.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter marks a critical turning point in the investigation. Miss Fairchild successfully provokes Norah into physically attacking her in front of the police, giving the detectives a witnessed assault. The incident undermines the women’s credibility and reinforces Miss Fairchild’s narrative that Norah is violent and her sisters are complicit. It also deepens Jessica’s personal conflict about motherhood, tying her unresolved feelings to the larger story of childhood trauma and the absent child buried under the house. The pub scene moves the conflict from legal interrogation into public spectacle, raising the tension.

Study Questions and Answers

Why does Jessica fantasize about raising Norah’s child rather than having her own?
Jessica is afraid of the deliberate decision to create a life. Her fantasy allows her to experience motherhood without the burden of choice, since she imagines stepping in to care for an existing child. It reflects her deep fear of making a definitive adult commitment and her belief that she could be a better mother than she had herself.
How does Miss Fairchild use language to control the confrontation?
She first speaks to Jessica as though they are friends, then pivots to accusing Norah of being “the violent one.” By refusing to say the child’s name and calling Norah “clever,” she provokes a reaction. When Norah attacks, Miss Fairchild immediately labels it “assault” and frames herself as the victim, repositioning the police as witnesses to Norah’s instability.
What does Patel’s question about children reveal about each sister?
Alicia deflects professionally, Jessica lies about being unable to have kids, and Norah gives no answer because she is at the bar. The question exposes each woman’s evasion of motherhood as a topic tied to their own traumatic childhoods. It also foreshadows that the buried child may be a symbolic or literal accusation about their pasts.