Lone Women Chapter 2: Adelaide’s Escape Begins

⚠️ 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

Adelaide Henry opens Chapter 2 already on the road with Mr. Cole, the wagon driver she hired to carry her from Lucerne Valley to the Port of Los Angeles. An hour into the trip, Mr. Cole breaks the silence with the words “I know you.” He then repeats what people in the area say about the Henry family: they keep to their property, do not visit others, and never speak in church. Adelaide reminds him that the family brings plums every Sunday, and he grudgingly concedes that point.

As the wagon rolls south, Adelaide looks at her hands. They are covered in deep cuts, some still unhealed. She cannot remember the exact moment each cut appeared, but she knows what happened in the gap: she filled two jars with gasoline and burned evidence. The thought “I burned the evidence” nearly escapes her lips, and she clamps a hand over her mouth, unsure whether she might confess or be sick.

Mr. Cole, now alone with a woman, becomes bolder. For most of the half-day ride, he talks badly about her family, and Adelaide privately passes the time imagining ways to kill him. She reflects that she has carried similar experiences before, like a small bag of stones, from her trips to Victorville and Allensworth to sell plums.

Approaching Los Angeles, they discover that the Port of Los Angeles is actually in a town called San Pedro. Mr. Cole learns this at a feed store but pretends he made no mistake. After backtracking, they arrive in San Pedro, where the four-story clock tower, electric lights, and streetcar make Adelaide feel small. For a moment she realizes she could disappear here, but she decides that six hours from Lucerne Valley is not far enough, and Mr. Cole would know where she settled. She chooses to keep going, reaching back to touch the trunk that rides beside her.

Key Events

Mr. Cole says “I know you” and begins reciting the Henry family’s strange reputation.
Adelaide notices the deep cuts on her hands and recalls gasoline jars and burned evidence.
She nearly says “I burned the evidence” out loud and covers her mouth.
Mr. Cole talks freely about her family because no one else can hear him.
Adelaide spends part of the ride imagining killing Mr. Cole; the text notes she has contemplated killing him twice.
The travelers learn the Port of Los Angeles is in San Pedro, and Mr. Cole hides his earlier error.
Adelaide and Mr. Cole arrive in San Pedro, where the city’s scale and electricity overwhelm them.
Adelaide considers staying in San Pedro but decides to continue; she reaches back to touch the trunk.

Character Development

Adelaide Henry: Adelaide is dissociated and guarded. Her unbandaged hands show physical proof of a violent act she cannot fully reconstruct, and her near-confession reveals how close her secret sits to the surface. She is also calculating: she imagines killing Mr. Cole, then steadies herself and keeps her true thoughts hidden. Her decision to move on rather than stay in San Pedro shows a survivor’s instinct to put real distance between herself and her past.
Mr. Cole: Alone with Adelaide, Mr. Cole reveals what the narration calls his “secret self.” He is gossipy, insulting, and self-important, and he pretends he did not make a mistake about San Pedro. He represents the kind of man Adelaide has had to endure on the road: someone who treats a lone woman as an audience rather than a person.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs Actually Evidenced Here

The trunk: The trunk barely fits in Mr. Cole’s small wagon bed, and Adelaide reaches back to touch it as if to calm it or keep it from escaping. It functions as a physical emblem of the hidden past she cannot leave behind.
Hands and cuts: Adelaide’s cut palms and fingers are unbandaged and slow to heal. The wounds connect her body to the violent act she has tried to erase from her memory.
Gasoline and burned evidence: Adelaide remembers filling jars with gasoline and burning evidence, though the chapter never names what she burned. The image drives her fear of confession.
The “bag of stones”: Adelaide describes the unwanted remarks she has collected from men as a small bag of stones. It is a metaphor for accumulated harassment that makes ordinary life harder to carry.
Silence and gossip: Mr. Cole talks freely because no witness is present, while Adelaide keeps quiet to protect herself. The chapter repeatedly sets the urge to confess against the need to stay silent.
Unknownness and escape: In San Pedro, streetcar passengers look through Adelaide without seeing her. The moment makes her realize she might escape, but she decides anonymity is not enough if the distance is short and Mr. Cole knows where she is.
“Every tongue shall confess”: Adelaide fears her own tongue will betray her, while Mr. Cole’s tongue does not confess his navigational error. The phrase becomes an ironic motif about selective confession.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter shifts the novel from Adelaide’s farmhouse to the open road, establishing the immediate aftermath of whatever she has done. It introduces the journey to Los Angeles, the practical obstacle of the San Pedro port, and the growing importance of the trunk. More importantly, it develops Adelaide’s inner life: her dissociation, her need to suppress a confession, and her hard-won habits of enduring men like Mr. Cole. The scene in San Pedro gives her a first glimpse of escape while reminding her that true safety will require more distance.

Study Questions and Answers

Why does Adelaide keep her hand over her mouth during the wagon ride? Adelaide is afraid the words “I burned the evidence” might come out, or that she might vomit. Her fear of confessing aloud shows how close her secret is to surfacing.
How does Mr. Cole behave when he is alone with Adelaide? He speaks freely and insultingly about her family because no one else is there to shame him. Adelaide recognizes this as a version of the behavior she has experienced from other men during her solo trips.
Why does Adelaide decide not to settle in San Pedro? The city offers anonymity, but it is only six hours from Lucerne Valley, and Mr. Cole would know where she went. Adelaide concludes that to truly escape, she must keep going to the port and board a ship.