Chapter 26: Doubt Creeps In — Summary & 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
Chapter 26 opens with Nicholina existing as a bodiless spirit, drifting as wind and snow across a mountainside. She is searching for her body, which she believes her mistress has brought to a castle. As she moves, she notes that pain and sensation have faded without a physical form, leaving her feeling strangely free. Her mistress walks among witches below, calling them by name—but not Nicholina’s name. This omission sparks the first thread of doubt.
Nicholina sweeps upward, searching frantically for the castle, but finds only snow, mountain, and pine. She recalls a woman with golden patterns—someone who spoke harshly and did not fragment her spirit. Because that woman did not stay, Nicholina cannot locate the castle or her body. Doubting voices begin to whisper: You’ve failed, Nicholina. Your mistress needs her more than she needs you. She tries to dismiss them, but the fear grows. She knows she cannot linger long without a body, or she will become a matagot—a helpless animal spirit.
To avoid that fate, she dives into a mink and waits. Time passes strangely for animals, and she tracks shadows, hiding from predators. Eventually, she smells her mistress approaching and hears her arguing with Morgane about Morgane’s daughter. Nicholina leaves the mink and follows, seeing a fire-damaged castle under repair by white ladies who knit invisible patterns into stone and wood. She feels the pull of her body and enters the castle, finding a small, sparse bedroom. Her body is not on the bed but lying on the cold stone floor, looking pale and scarred.
She hovers above it, feeling regret and hurt. The room has no fire or candlelight, but she reminds herself that pain is fleeting. The doubting voices return, suggesting she has chosen the wrong side and that her mistress will betray her. She dismisses them, insisting her mistress would never betray her. Slowly, she sinks back into her body, feeling heavy and weary. Memories flicker—lavender, wraiths, sickly boys, and the word family, which once tasted of comfort and love but now feels foreign. She recalls a brief warmth she felt through another’s emotions, when that other woman looked upon her huntsman with love. Nicholina holds onto that memory.
She does not open her eyes or move to the bed. She stays on the cold stone, realizing her mistress did not want her there. The chapter ends with her deepest fear: sometimes she thinks her mistress does not want her at all.
Key Events
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Nicholina, as a bodiless spirit, searches for her body but cannot find the castle.
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She reflects on a woman with golden patterns who did not fragment her spirit, preventing Nicholina from locating her body.
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Doubting voices tell her she has failed and that her mistress needs the other woman more.
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Fearing she will become a matagot, Nicholina inhabits a mink to wait.
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She hears her mistress arguing with Morgane about Morgane’s daughter.
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She follows them to a fire-damaged castle under repair by white ladies.
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She finds her body in a sparse bedroom, lying on the cold stone floor instead of the bed.
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She re-enters her body, feeling heavy and weary, and recalls memories of family and warmth felt through another’s emotions.
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She remains on the floor, concluding that her mistress did not want her there and doubting whether her mistress wants her at all.
Character Development
This chapter is entirely from Nicholina’s perspective, offering a rare, intimate look at a character who is usually a menacing presence. Her bodiless state strips away her power, leaving her vulnerable and desperate. The central development is her growing self-doubt. She clings to the belief that her mistress has not forgotten her, but every piece of evidence—the unnamed call, the empty bed, the cold floor—undermines that conviction.
Nicholina’s fear of becoming a matagot reveals her deep anxiety about losing her identity. She is willing to inhabit a mink, a lowly creature, just to preserve some form of existence. This desperation contrasts sharply with her usual confidence and cruelty. The chapter also shows her capacity for memory and emotion, as she recalls warmth and love felt through another person. This suggests a buried longing for connection, even as she serves a mistress who seems indifferent to her.
The mistress herself remains offstage, but her actions—or inactions—speak volumes. She does not call Nicholina’s name, does not place her body on the bed, and does not seem to care whether Nicholina returns. This neglect fuels Nicholina’s doubt and sets the stage for a potential betrayal or shift in allegiance.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
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Doubt and Self-Doubt: The chapter is built around the internal voices that whisper failure and worthlessness. Nicholina’s struggle to silence them mirrors a broader theme of questioning one’s place and purpose.
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Fear of Abandonment: Nicholina’s greatest fear is being forgotten or replaced by her mistress. The empty bed and cold floor symbolize her perceived rejection.
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Identity Erosion: Without a body, Nicholina feels herself spreading, drifting, losing purpose. The threat of becoming a matagot represents the complete loss of self.
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Animal Possession: Inhabiting the mink is a desperate act of survival, but it also highlights how far Nicholina has fallen from her former power.
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Pain Is Fleeting: Nicholina repeats this mantra to comfort herself, but it also reveals her emotional numbness and the cost of her existence.
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Loss of Warmth and Love: The memory of warmth felt through another’s emotions underscores what Nicholina has lost—and what she craves.
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Betrayal Temptation: The doubting voices suggest she could ally with others before her mistress betrays her, introducing the possibility of a future defection.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 26 deepens the reader’s understanding of Nicholina, transforming her from a one-dimensional antagonist into a tragic figure. It humanizes her by showing her vulnerability, fear, and longing for belonging. The chapter also advances the plot by revealing the state of the castle—damaged by fire and under repair—and by placing Nicholina in a position where she overhears a conversation between her mistress and Morgane about Morgane’s daughter. This conversation likely carries important information about the larger conflict.
More significantly, the chapter plants seeds of doubt that could lead to a major character shift. Nicholina’s fear of abandonment and the temptation to betray her mistress create narrative tension. If her mistress continues to neglect her, Nicholina may become an unpredictable force. This chapter also reinforces the theme of identity and the cost of serving a power that does not value you.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Nicholina decide to inhabit a mink, and what does this decision reveal about her state of mind?
Nicholina inhabits the mink because she cannot linger long without a body without becoming a matagot—a helpless animal spirit. The decision reveals her desperation and fear of losing her identity entirely. She is willing to occupy a lowly creature to preserve some form of existence, showing how far she has fallen from her former power and how much she fears being forgotten.
2. What evidence in the chapter suggests that Nicholina’s mistress may not value her as much as Nicholina believes?
Several details point to the mistress’s neglect: she calls the witches by name but not Nicholina’s; she does not place Nicholina’s body on the bed, leaving it on the cold stone floor; and she does not seem to be waiting for Nicholina’s return. The room is sparse and unheated, with no candlelight, suggesting a lack of care. Nicholina herself acknowledges that her mistress did not want her there, which reinforces the idea that she is not a priority.
3. How does the memory of warmth and family affect Nicholina’s emotional state in this chapter?
The memory of warmth and family—felt through another woman’s emotions when she looked upon her huntsman—gives Nicholina a brief sense of comfort. She holds onto that memory as a source of hope. However, it also deepens her sense of loss, because she no longer remembers what warmth or love feels like in her own body. This contrast between the memory and her current cold, heavy existence intensifies her loneliness and doubt.
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