Chapter Twenty-One: Summary, Analysis, and Key Themes
⚠️ 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 preparing a contraceptive plug from beeswax, honey, fennel seed, and pennyroyal, a mixture she grinds with a mortar and pestle. She tastes it and finds it sweet, a small garden inside her. Over the next four nights, Nat visits her, staying until just before dawn. While he sleeps beside her, she finishes two new sets of gloves for Felicity, and the gloves sit on her table where Charlotte's intimate whites had lain the previous week—purity and lust side by side.
Nat admires the gloves and asks for a pair for the banquet, offering to pay directly, but Isobel insists he must buy them from Felicity to protect her position at the shop. He requests leopard-patterned gloves for power and courage. She works on them in a torrent of inspiration, adding a scarlet hawthorn posy at the wrist and a tiny scarlet A hidden inside the seam. When she tells him that hawthorn can revive a failing heart but too much will kill, he asks if that is the magic she used to enchant him. She denies having magic, but he insists she does. He wants the gloves for himself, but she refuses, telling him he must buy them from Felicity.
At the shop, Abigail notices Isobel's changed appearance and teases her about a secret beau. Abigail herself mentions a shoemaker in Lynn who has been seeking her out. Isobel plans her dress for the upcoming banquet, deciding on a blue that matches the sea, hoping to debut among Salem society. She imagines Nat watching as she wears her shawl embroidered with Adam and Eve and a red apple, and the ladies admiring her work.
In private, Nat blindfolds her with a handkerchief and discusses Plato's cave allegory, speaking of shadows and truth. He describes how he imagines himself imprisoned by the past and his own darkness. Under the blindfold, Isobel sees nothing but feels his presence. He asks what she sees, and she whispers about their breath moving together. He tells her he looks into the truth of his own soul. They make love, and afterward he asks about her magical work. She reveals her synesthesia—that she sees letters and words in colors. She tells him that her mother warned her to hide this, fearing it would be seen as witchcraft. Nat calls it a gift, or a gift and a curse. She shows him her sketchbook, and he listens intently, asking questions.
Later, Nat shares a story idea about a young man who longs for a forbidden girl and a plant with poisonous blossoms. He says the girl might either die from the poison or become poisonous herself. Isobel is unsettled and says she doesn't want to read about love that kills. He defends his craft, saying literature reveals deeper truths. She slips out to the yard, crying, and he follows, telling her she is in his veins. She asks what will happen when Edward returns, and he says he will love her from afar. He notices the red-haired witch stitched on her cloak, and she tells him about her ancestress Isobel Gowdie, a woman accused of witchcraft who escaped. He says she was meant for him to find, but Isobel feels he sees her only as his invention. She thinks about telling him about the captain's letter but holds back, afraid everything will change. She realizes her bleeding is late.
The chapter closes in Scotland, 1710. An elderly Isobel Gowdie holds her newborn granddaughter, also named Isobel. She reflects on her past—the loss of her first child, the faeries, the Wood Witch, and her escape. She feels certain she belongs in this moment, a red-haired woman in a chain of red-haired girls.
Key Events
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Isobel prepares a contraceptive mixture from beeswax, honey, fennel seed, and pennyroyal.
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Nat visits four consecutive nights; Isobel completes two glove sets for Felicity and makes leopard-patterned gloves for Nat, insisting he purchase them through Felicity.
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Abigail teases Isobel about a possible beau and mentions a shoemaker in Lynn.
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Isobel plans a blue dress for the banquet, hoping to debut among Salem society.
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Nat blindfolds Isobel and discusses Plato's cave allegory.
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Isobel reveals her synesthetic perception of letters and words in colors, a secret her mother warned her to hide.
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Nat shares a story idea about a poisonous plant and forbidden love, which unsettles Isobel.
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Nat notices the red-haired witch stitched on her cloak; Isobel tells him about her ancestress Isobel Gowdie.
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Isobel withholds news of the captain's letter and realizes her bleeding is late.
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The chapter shifts to Scotland, 1710, where elderly Isobel Gowdie holds her newborn granddaughter.
Character Development
Isobel grows more intimate with Nat, both physically and emotionally. She reveals her deepest secret—her synesthesia—which she has never shared with anyone. This act of trust is significant, but it also makes her vulnerable. She begins to see that Nat may view her as a creation of his imagination rather than a real person with her own agency. Her fear that he sees only himself in her is a turning point in her self-awareness. She also withholds the captain's letter, choosing to remain in uncertainty rather than risk changing their dynamic. Her realization that her bleeding is late introduces a new layer of anxiety and potential consequence.
Nat is portrayed as both passionate and self-absorbed. He is fascinated by Isobel's colors and calls them a gift, but he also uses her ideas for his own stories without fully considering her feelings. His story about the poisonous plant disturbs her, and he dismisses her discomfort, asserting the importance of his craft. He repeatedly frames her as someone he has conjured or who was meant for him, which underscores his tendency to see her as an extension of his own desires.
Abigail provides a lighter counterpoint, teasing Isobel about a beau and sharing her own romantic interest. Her presence grounds the shop scenes in everyday social life.
The elderly Isobel Gowdie's brief scene shows her reflecting on her long life, her losses, and her connection to the chain of red-haired women. She finds peace in holding her granddaughter, affirming her place in that lineage.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
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Forbidden love and secrecy: The affair between Isobel and Nat is conducted in secret, and Isobel hides her synesthesia, the captain's letter, and her possible pregnancy.
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Synesthesia as gift and curse: Isobel's colors are both a source of wonder and a potential accusation of witchcraft. Nat calls it a gift, but her mother warned it could be construed as a curse.
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Witchcraft accusations and ancestry: Isobel's story of Isobel Gowdie connects her to a legacy of women accused of witchcraft, and the stitched witch on her cloak becomes a symbol of that heritage.
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Poison and healing: The hawthorn flowers on the gloves can heal or kill, and Nat's story about the poisonous plant echoes this duality.
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Plato's cave allegory: Nat uses the allegory to explore truth and illusion, but it also reflects how he sees Isobel—as a shadow or invention rather than a full reality.
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Identity vs. invention: Isobel insists she is more than Nat's invention, but he continues to see her as something he has conjured.
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Pregnancy and fertility: Isobel's contraceptive mixture and her late bleeding introduce the theme of fertility and its consequences.
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Garden of Eden symbolism: The shawl with Adam and Eve and the red apple, along with Nat's story about a forbidden garden, evoke Eden and the fall.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter deepens the central relationship and reveals Isobel's most guarded secret, making her more vulnerable and complex. It also sets up the impending conflict with Edward's return, as Isobel withholds the captain's letter and realizes she may be pregnant. The chapter connects Isobel's personal story to her ancestral past through the scene with elderly Isobel Gowdie, reinforcing the theme of inherited identity and the cyclical nature of women's experiences. Nat's story idea about poison and forbidden love foreshadows the dangers of their own passion, and his tendency to see Isobel as an invention highlights a fundamental tension in their relationship.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Isobel insist that Nat buy the leopard gloves from Felicity, and what does this reveal about her priorities?
Isobel insists because she has given Felicity her word and cannot risk losing her position at the shop. She is trying to secure her name and independence, especially given her uncertain future with Edward. This shows that she is pragmatic and protective of her livelihood, even as she is drawn to Nat.
2. How does Nat's use of Plato's cave allegory reflect his view of Isobel?
Nat uses the allegory to talk about shadows and truth, but his framing suggests he sees Isobel as a shadow or a figure he has conjured from his own mind. He says she was meant for him to find, implying she is an invention rather than a fully independent person. This contrasts with Isobel's insistence that she is real and more than his creation.
3. What is the significance of the chapter's final scene in Scotland, 1710?
The scene shows elderly Isobel Gowdie holding her granddaughter, also named Isobel. It reinforces the theme of ancestry and legacy, connecting the present-day Isobel to a chain of red-haired women. It also provides a sense of continuity and survival, as Isobel Gowdie escaped persecution and lived to see her lineage continue, suggesting hope for the younger Isobel.