Chapter Sixteen 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
The chapter opens with Isobel being summoned to the Silas house to finish sprigging Charlotte’s veil. She finds the back door open and slips into the empty kitchen, where Mrs. Silas soon appears. Mrs. Silas praises Isobel’s work, calling her a gifted seamstress, and notes that Charlotte is happy. She then makes disparaging remarks about Zeke and Mercy, suggesting that Black families should show more gratitude for their freedom. Isobel feels Mercy’s anger rise in her and remembers the slave catcher’s purpose. Despite her discomfort, Mrs. Silas commissions Isobel to sew petticoats and baby clothes for Charlotte, offering double wages and twenty dollars in advance. Isobel initially demurs, but Mrs. Silas insists, saying Charlotte has asked only for her. Isobel agrees, thinking that Charlotte and her child should not bear the burden of her father’s sins.
Isobel hides the money in a knot in the wall and buys cotton and linen from several merchants so no one will suspect she is making a large quantity of garments. She also buys transparent paper and blue powder chalk to make patterns, fulfilling her long-held desire to become a pattern-maker. Back home, she clears the table, closes the cottage to avoid drafts, and stamps designs onto the cloth. She practices transferring her Adam and Eve scene onto the banquet shawl. Soon Charlotte’s petticoats and tiny baby gowns hang across chairs and spread across the table like pale wings. Isobel works late into the night, hearing Mercy’s children whispering through the woods before dawn.
One morning, Mercy visits with a jar of maple syrup. She notices Isobel’s embroidered cape, which features sea monsters, irises, and hidden letters. Isobel tells Mercy about her ancestress Isobel Gowdie, who was accused of witchcraft in Scotland. Mercy listens and then explains that in Salem, Isobel’s red hair and Scottish accent mark her as low-status, not much better than Black or Indigenous people. Mercy advises Isobel to learn how to move through society unnoticed—to put up her hair, wear a brown cape and plain bonnet, and act like she is nothing, while remembering that it is a lie. Isobel feels the rightness of this advice, though she protests that she is not nobody.
The chapter closes with a flashback to Salem in 1693. The governor suspends the court of Oyer and Terminer, releasing Tituba, Dorcas Good, Sarah Carrier, and ninety-three other falsely accused people from jail. Judge Hathorne watches them limp back into Salem and rages at the magistrates who recant their verdicts and at the accusers who apologize. He tells his wife he still believes Satan was present. Meanwhile, Sarah Carrier, who testified against her mother Martha, lies awake at night, tormented by guilt. She remembers her mother hiding a handkerchief with an eight-pointed flower and a needle, saying they could keep something beautiful for themselves. Sarah wonders if she should burn the handkerchief, carry it, or use it to make a poppet doll of Judge Hathorne. She imagines his grave marker beside his father’s.
Key Events
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Isobel finishes sprigging Charlotte’s veil at the Silas house.
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Mrs. Silas makes prejudiced remarks about Zeke and Mercy.
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Mrs. Silas commissions petticoats and baby clothes, paying double wages and twenty dollars in advance.
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Isobel buys fabric from multiple merchants and practices pattern-making at home.
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Mercy visits with maple syrup and sees Isobel’s embroidered cape.
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Isobel tells Mercy about Isobel Gowdie, her accused ancestress.
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Mercy explains how Isobel’s red hair and accent mark her as low-status and advises her on invisibility.
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Flashback: the governor suspends the witchcraft court and releases the accused.
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Judge Hathorne remains defiant, and Sarah Carrier struggles with guilt over testifying against her mother.
Character Development
Isobel grows more determined to use her needle as a means of independence and revenge. She hides her earnings, practices pattern-making, and works diligently on Charlotte’s garments. Her conversation with Mercy forces her to confront how others perceive her—not as a skilled seamstress but as a low-status foreigner. She resists at first but begins to absorb Mercy’s lesson about the power of invisibility.
Mercy emerges as a wise mentor figure. She softens toward Isobel, offering maple syrup and practical advice. Her explanation of how society labels people as witches or outsiders reveals her deep understanding of power dynamics. She teaches Isobel that knowing who you are versus who others think you are is a form of strength.
Mrs. Silas is shown as outwardly gracious but deeply prejudiced. She praises Isobel’s work while dismissing Zeke and Mercy as ungrateful. Her casual racism and her assumption of superiority highlight the social hierarchy Isobel must navigate.
Sarah Carrier in the flashback embodies the lasting trauma of the witch trials. Her guilt over testifying against her mother, her sleepless nights, and her fantasies of harming Judge Hathorne show how false testimony and coercion leave scars.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Invisibility as power is central. Mercy’s advice—to move through society unnoticed so you can act without detection—echoes Isobel’s own need to hide her work and her true self. The brown cape and plain bonnet become symbols of strategic self-effacement.
Social hierarchy and prejudice are explored through Mrs. Silas’s remarks and Mercy’s blunt assessment of Isobel’s status. The chapter draws parallels between the treatment of Black people, Scots, and accused witches, showing how labels are used to control.
Witch as a label of control appears in Mercy’s musings: “Witch is a reason to kill you; witch might be someone to heal you.” The word shifts meaning depending on who wields it. Isobel Gowdie’s story and Sarah Carrier’s experience both illustrate how accusations serve power.
Female independence through needlework is a recurring motif. Isobel’s pattern-making and sewing are not just labor but acts of creation and defiance. The hidden letters and designs on her cape record her memories and desires, making the needle a tool of self-expression.
Hidden beauty and forbidden adornment appear in Sarah Carrier’s memory of her mother hiding the embroidered handkerchief. The needle and flower represent a private, beautiful thing kept from the world—similar to Isobel’s cape and her secret work.
Guilt and false testimony are embodied in Sarah Carrier. Her testimony against her mother was coerced, yet she blames herself. The chapter suggests that the consequences of the trials extend far beyond the courtroom.
Protective cloak as memory keeper is symbolized by Isobel’s cape, which carries her past, her love for Nat, and her ancestress’s story. It is both a physical and emotional shield.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter deepens Isobel’s understanding of her place in Salem and arms her with a new strategy for survival. Mercy’s lesson about invisibility directly influences how Isobel will navigate the rest of the novel, allowing her to work in plain sight while hiding her true intentions. The flashback to 1693 connects Isobel’s personal history to the broader legacy of witch accusations, showing how the past continues to haunt the present. Sarah Carrier’s guilt and Judge Hathorne’s defiance remind readers that the trials were not a cleanly resolved episode but a source of ongoing pain and injustice. The chapter also reinforces the novel’s central themes of female agency, prejudice, and the power of storytelling.
Study Questions and Answers
- How does Mercy’s advice about invisibility change Isobel’s approach to her work and her identity?
Mercy tells Isobel that by appearing harmless and unnoticed, she can accomplish things without drawing suspicion. Isobel already hides her money and works in secret, but Mercy’s words give her a framework: she can act as if she is nothing while knowing she is strong. This empowers Isobel to continue her needlework and her plans for revenge without fear of being seen as a threat.
- What does the flashback to 1693 reveal about the aftermath of the witch trials, and how does it parallel Isobel’s situation?
The flashback shows that even after the court is suspended, Judge Hathorne remains unrepentant, and Sarah Carrier is consumed by guilt. The accused are released but not healed. This parallels Isobel’s own legacy: her ancestress escaped execution but the accusation still shadows her. The chapter suggests that labels like “witch” persist across generations, affecting how people are seen and treated.
- How does Mrs. Silas’s behavior toward Zeke and Mercy contrast with her treatment of Isobel?
Mrs. Silas praises Isobel’s skill and pays her well, but she speaks of Zeke and Mercy with contempt, implying they should be grateful for their freedom. This contrast reveals that Mrs. Silas’s kindness is conditional and rooted in class and race. Isobel notices the hypocrisy and feels Mercy’s anger, which deepens her distrust of the Silas family and strengthens her resolve to rely on her own abilities.