Chapter Six: Summary, Themes, 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

On their first morning in Salem, the narrator wakes to Edward snoring on the floor beside the bed, his boots sticking up and a spilled cup of ale nearby. She hears a man below her window telling Nat Hathorne that his story won't run this week, and she watches the two men walk away. She dresses and goes out, noticing the town's gray, plain clothing and the sea air. She passes Mrs. Batchelder's shop, where she admires colored pencils in the window. Widow Higgins approaches her, compliments her embroidery, and asks where she learned it. The narrator says her mother taught her in Scotland. Widow Higgins asks about her church, warns that new Scots and Irish are not well liked, and mentions that the Peabody sisters teach needlework. She then reveals that Captain Darling has arranged for the narrator and Edward to rent her cottage, and she offers to let them see it. The narrator is uneasy, sensing the widow has a secret.

Back at the inn, Edward confirms the cottage arrangement and says they will see it that morning. A wharf runner named Zeke arrives with a wagon. Zeke is a dark-skinned man with a scar, and he talks about his cousin Mercy and her children. He points out Mill Pond, the old tar works, and Gallows Hill, mentioning that people say spirits moan in the Witch Woods. The narrator is unsettled but tries to ignore it.

The cottage is at the edge of a wooded grove, whitewashed stone with a Dutch door. It is musty but the narrator feels at ease, reminded of the cottage where she was born. Edward and Zeke pace the perimeter, and the narrator unpacks. Mercy arrives with her children Ivy and Abraham, bringing eggs and goat's milk as a welcome. Mercy is reserved and keeps her distance, but the narrator is glad for neighbors. Zeke lingers and offers help.

Edward buys a slat bed and a table, and Zeke helps carry them. Zeke advises on gardening, saying “You plant a rainbow out here, you'll eat all year long.” He lists colorful vegetables and shows her how to dry seeds. The narrator finds an old shed with tools and a large cupboard with blue-and-white tiles. She cleans it and brings it inside. That night, after Edward falls asleep, she sketches and stitches a pillow with the words “Plant a rainbow,” using colors that appear to her.

The chapter shifts to Scotland in 1662. Isobel Gowdie is imprisoned, awaiting execution. Her husband John Gilbert comes to the front of the jail, distracting the guard, while Margret Forbes, the reverend's wife, cuts through the bars at the back. Isobel hesitates, fearing Satan's tricks, but Margret insists. Isobel squeezes through the gap, takes a bundle of food, and runs into the forest, away from the full moon, into the deep glens.

Key Events

The narrator overhears that Nat Hathorne's story won't run this week.
Widow Higgins approaches the narrator, praises her needlework, and offers a cottage arranged by Captain Darling.
Edward confirms the cottage and they ride with Zeke to see it.
The cottage is isolated at the edge of woods; they move in.
Mercy and her children bring eggs and goat's milk as a welcome.
Edward buys furniture; Zeke helps and advises on gardening, including the phrase “Plant a rainbow.”
The narrator finds a cupboard in the shed and cleans it.
That night she stitches a pillow with “Plant a rainbow.”
In Scotland, Isobel Gowdie escapes prison with Margret Forbes's help and runs into the forest.

Character Development

The narrator shows her resourcefulness and desire for independence. She is wary of Widow Higgins, sensing hidden motives, and she is determined not to work as an apprentice again. She embraces the cottage as a new beginning, finding comfort in its isolation. Her interaction with Mercy reveals her wish for friendship, though Mercy keeps her distance. The narrator's stitching of the “Plant a rainbow” pillow shows her connection to her craft and her synesthetic experience of colors.

Edward is practical and decisive, arranging the cottage without consulting his wife, but he also shows kindness to Mercy's children. He is preparing to go to sea, leaving the narrator alone.

Widow Higgins is a complex figure: she offers help but also probes into the narrator's background and church affiliation, reflecting the social pressures of Salem.

Mercy is proud and self-sufficient, wary of outsiders but willing to exchange goods fairly. She recognizes the quality of the narrator's mother's gloves.

Zeke is friendly and knowledgeable, offering practical advice and a sense of community.

Isobel Gowdie is desperate and trusting, risking escape with the help of Margret Forbes, showing her will to survive.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Needlework as identity and craft: The narrator's embroidery is a source of pride and a link to her mother. Widow Higgins recognizes its quality, and Mercy admires the gloves. The narrator's stitching of “Plant a rainbow” becomes a personal emblem.
Religious conformity and social pressure: Widow Higgins asks about the narrator's church and warns about the dislike of new Scots and Irish. The need to be seen at meeting is emphasized.
Isolation and the cottage: The cottage at the edge of the woods offers a new beginning but also echoes the narrator's birthplace and the isolation of the Witch Woods.
Supernatural omens and bad luck: The narrator avoids the undertaker's gaze, and Zeke mentions spirits in the Witch Woods. The narrator's unease about Widow Higgins and the “spells” she is said to have.
Color synesthesia: The narrator sees words and sounds in colors, as when Zeke's words appear in patterns. This is a recurring motif.
Plant a rainbow: Zeke's advice becomes a symbol of hope, resilience, and the narrator's creative response to her new life.
Escape from imprisonment: Isobel's escape parallels the narrator's own desire for freedom from her past and from Edward's decisions.
Maternal legacy: The narrator's mother's gloves and her teaching of embroidery connect to the past.
Secrets and hidden knowledge: Widow Higgins seems to have a secret, and the narrator senses hidden meanings in Mercy's work.
Community exchange and neighborliness: Mercy brings eggs and milk, and Zeke offers help, establishing a network of mutual aid.
The past haunting the present: The Witch Woods and Gallows Hill evoke Salem's history, and the narrator's own past in Scotland resurfaces.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter establishes the narrator's new home in Salem and introduces key relationships that will shape her story. The cottage becomes a space of potential independence, but it is also isolated and near the Witch Woods, foreshadowing themes of suspicion and danger. The “Plant a rainbow” motif ties together Zeke's practical wisdom and the narrator's artistic vision, suggesting her resilience. The shift to Isobel Gowdie's escape in 1662 connects the narrator's present to a history of witchcraft persecution, hinting at deeper connections between the characters and the town's past. This chapter also deepens the narrator's character, showing her wariness of Widow Higgins and her desire for friendship with Mercy.

Study Questions and Answers

What does the narrator's reaction to Widow Higgins reveal about her personality and concerns?

The narrator is cautious and perceptive. She senses that Widow Higgins has a secret or is seeking to know hers. She is uncomfortable with the widow's close proximity and probing questions about her church and background. This shows her wariness of social judgment and her desire to keep her own secrets, as well as her independence—she does not want to be an apprentice again.

How does the cottage symbolize a new beginning for the narrator, and what might its isolation foreshadow?

The cottage offers the narrator a sense of ease and reminds her of her birthplace. It represents a fresh start, a place where she can be mistress of her own home. However, its isolation at the edge of the woods, near the Witch Woods and Gallows Hill, foreshadows themes of suspicion, danger, and the lingering presence of witchcraft history. The narrator's decision to ignore the talk of spirits suggests she is trying to leave the past behind, but the setting hints that it may not be so easy.

What is the significance of the “Plant a rainbow” phrase and the narrator's decision to stitch it?

Zeke's advice to “plant a rainbow” is both practical—growing a variety of colorful vegetables—and symbolic. It suggests resilience, hope, and the idea of creating something beautiful and sustaining from the earth. The narrator's decision to stitch these words on a pillow shows her embracing this wisdom as a personal motto. It also connects to her color synesthesia, as she sees the letters in vivid colors, linking her creative vision to the natural world and her new life.