Chapter 22: 19 – The Poltergeist and Ninnakins
Spoiler Notice: This page reveals the complete events of Chapter 22 of Elphie. Proceed only if you have read the chapter or wish to know all its details.
Summary
In the Quadling camp, a mysterious thief steals small items—sewing things, cook’s pincers—and only Elphie notices. Nanny and Boozy bicker, while Elphie’s parents remain distracted. Night guard Ti’imit sleeps through everything. Elphie, now old enough to grasp cause and effect, wonders if she herself is unconsciously responsible. Determined to catch the poltergeist, she tries to set a trap by propping her hated old doll, Ninnakins, outside the tent as bait. By morning, nothing has happened; the doll is untouched. Frustrated, Elphie flings Ninnakins into Nessa’s cot, hitting her sister. Nanny arrives to calm them. The thefts remain unsolved, and the poltergeist’s reality stays in dispute.
Key Events
- Thefts and accusations: Nanny’s needle-basket disappears, then Boozy’s bamboo pincers. Nessa blames Elphie of hexing; Elphie accuses Nessa. Boozy threatens to quit.
- Shield of bananas: The ceremonial shield is found overturned, piled with maggoty bananas. Elphie protests her innocence and dumps the fruit.
- Night watchman’s excuse: Elphie confronts Ti’imit, who admits he sleeps but points out that the fire and the family survive each night.
- Becoming a detective: Elphie resolves to observe secretly, trains her eyes to “sidle sideways.” A bird lands on her shoulder; she feels it is more itself than any human could be.
- The bait plan fails: Elphie takes Nessa’s doll Ninnakins—a threadbare gift from Nanny—and sets it out as a night guardian, hoping the thief will take it. Next morning, the doll remains unmolested.
- Sisterly conflict: Elphie throws the doll at Nessa’s face, making her cry. Nanny scolds them yet again.
Character Development
- Elphie: Begins to understand chronology and consequence, referencing Ozma’s disappearance. Feels both angry and proud at being suspected. Recognizes her skin would make her invisible only if she were naked and lost in the jungle. She reflects that she “hardly ever cries” and is a “secret unto herself,” finding bewildering relief in not knowing who she is. Her detective work shows growing independence, while her cruelty to Nessa with the doll reveals pent-up frustration.
- Nessa: Accuses Elphie with “curious conviction,” yet remains physically incapable of theft. Displays mawkish attachment to Ninnakins but seems little affected by its presence or absence. Her wail after being hit with the doll is a familiar attention-getting ritual.
- Nanny: Scoffs at Elphie’s “fancies” and poltergeist talk, refuses to eat “with the family” after being accused of theft, but ultimately intervenes to settle the squabble.
- Boozy: Threatens to quit over the missing pincers but is called too kind to leave. Kitchen is “in her blood,” emphasizing class divisions within the camp.
- Ti’imit: The scrap-haired night guard sleeps on duty, viewing his role only as ensuring the fire and the household alive each morning.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- The Unseen and the Poltergeist: The episode’s central mystery—is there a real poltergeist, or is Elphie unwittingly causing the disturbances? The ambiguity mirrors her uncertain identity and the family’s neglect. Nanny’s denial contrasts with Elphie’s growing awareness.
- Identity and Invisibility: Elphie realizes her green skin might be an asset in the jungle, allowing her to vanish. She wants to “skulk and slide” and “button herself… in an invisible cloak of stealth.” This longing for invisibility pairs with her feeling both alien and proudly distinct.
- Sibling Rivalry and Blame: Nessa’s implication of Elphie and the subsequent doll incident highlight the tension over parental attention. Elphie resents Nessa’s centrality yet also exploits it for her own experiment.
- The Doll Ninnakins: A worn-out, bald, nearly featureless toy that passes from Elphie to Nessa. It embodies unwanted childhood and the sisters’ shared vacuum of affection. Its resistance to theft suggests the “poltergeist” mirrors Elphie’s own inner turmoil, not an external force.
- Cause and Effect: Elphie’s emerging logical mind (Ozma disappeared after the Wizard arrived) signals her transition into adolescence and a need to impose order on her chaotic world.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 22 deepens Elphie’s internal world at a pivotal age. The thefts, her attempted detective work, and the unresolved “poltergeist” all serve as a metaphor for her burgeoning self-consciousness and latent magical identity. The narrative never confirms a supernatural agent, leaving open the possibility that Elphie herself is the source—whether through sleepwalking, unconscious hexes, or simply being the family’s convenient scapegoat. This ambiguity plants the first seed of her future as the Wicked Witch and frames her relationship with Nessa as one of forced caretaking laced with resentment. The chapter also reinforces the family’s dysfunction: the parents are perpetually distracted, the servants squabble, and only Elphie tries to make sense of the odd occurrences. It marks her from innocence toward a more reflective, isolated existence.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Elphie decide to become a detective, and what does her investigation reveal about her character?
Elphie wants to clear her name and understand who—or what—is stealing items. The investigation shows her resourcefulness, her need for control in a neglectful household, and her capacity for independent thought. It also exposes her loneliness, as she undertakes the task entirely alone, with no adult support.
2. How does the poltergeist incident contribute to the theme of Elphie’s identity?
The poltergeist could be a projection of Elphie’s suppressed self or an unconscious expression of her emerging powers. The lack of resolution reflects her fractured sense of self: she doesn’t know if she is the culprit, a victim, or simply an observer. The incident parallels her desire to be invisible while simultaneously being accused of misdeeds.
3. What does the Ninnakins trap and its outcome reveal about Elphie’s relationship with Nessa?
Elphie uses Nessa’s only toy as bait, hoping to provoke a reaction from the thief, and then hurts Nessa with it when her plan fails. This act exposes Elphie’s simmering resentment toward the sister who captures all the family’s attention. It also shows how Elphie channels her frustration into hostility, even as Nessa’s physical helplessness makes her an easy target.