Mad Mabel Chapter 39: The Shrine and the Offer
Spoiler Notice
This summary contains spoilers for Mad Mabel Chapter 39 (Chapter 40 by index). If you have not read this chapter, proceed with caution.
Summary
Mabel is still in bed when Daphne lets herself in. Soon after, Roxanne arrives and helps hang laundry while sharing her story. She explains that Shane, Persephone’s father, is abusive and that she has an apprehended violence order that has been repeatedly breached. Roxanne describes how Shane systematically isolated her, discarding her car and refusing to give her a key, and recounts the first time he slapped her after she took a taxi to a prenatal appointment. Despite multiple moves, Shane always finds her. Mabel, though initially reluctant, offers to have Persephone stay overnight on nights Roxanne works. After Roxanne leaves, Mabel enters the spare bedroom—a cluttered shrine to her neighbor Peter, filled with photographs. She begins packing the photos into a box, acknowledging it is time to put them away.
Key Events
- Daphne visits Mabel and they hang laundry together.
- Roxanne arrives and reveals that Shane is Persephone’s abusive father.
- Roxanne confides that she has an AVO that has never been enforced.
- She describes Shane’s controlling behaviour: removing her car, denying her a key, and the first act of violence after she took a taxi.
- Roxanne has moved six times, and Shane always finds them.
- Mabel, pushed by Daphne, offers to babysit Persephone on Roxanne’s night shifts.
- Mabel enters the spare room—a shrine to Peter—and starts packing away his photographs.
Character Development
- Mabel: Her pragmatic nature is evident as she offers a practical solution despite her dislike of children. The scene in the shrine reveals vulnerability: she has been clinging to a fantasy of Peter as a safe, one-sided affection. Her decision to pack the photos signals a willingness to let go.
- Roxanne: Her backstory is fully laid bare, showing both her past naivety and her ongoing fear. She is resilient but exhausted, trapped in a cycle of flight.
- Daphne: Provides comic relief and emotional support, urging Mabel to help and reacting with outrage to Roxanne’s story.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Control and Isolation: Shane’s tactics—removing the car, witholding a key—illustrate how abusers systematically cut victims off from independence.
- The Shrine as Symbol: The room filled with Peter’s photographs represents Mabel’s solitary fantasy of love and her refusal to face rejection. Packing it away marks a step toward reality and healing.
- Practical Care: Mabel’s offer to babysit, despite calling Persephone an “irritating little despot,” shows that compassion can coexist with blunt honesty.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter deepens the parallel between Roxanne’s abusive past and Mabel’s emotional isolation. Roxanne’s story gives a human face to domestic violence, while Mabel’s confrontation with her shrine reveals her own hidden vulnerability. The decision to pack away Peter’s photos is a turning point, suggesting Mabel is ready to stop living in a fantasy and engage more genuinely with the people around her—including Persephone.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Roxanne say the AVO is “not worth the paper it’s written on”?
Roxanne explains that every time Shane breaches the order, she reports it to the police but nothing happens. The system has failed to protect her, leaving her with no effective recourse.
2. What motivates Mabel to offer to babysit Persephone?
Mabel is pushed by Daphne, but she also admits she does not do things she does not want to do. Her offer stems from a pragmatic desire to solve Roxanne’s problem, even though she finds Persephone irritating.
3. What does Mabel’s shrine to Peter suggest about her emotional state?
The shrine, described as a “fantasy of loving, and of being loved back,” reveals Mabel’s deep loneliness and fear of rejection. By keeping Peter’s photos, she creates a safe, one-sided relationship that requires no risk.