Chapter 33 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

Roos wakes late in the morning to find a plate of pickled carrots and a glass of water with white grit at the bottom, left outside her door. She immediately suspects Agnes has placed her pills there, and the thought makes her sick. She goes to find Agnes and discovers her gravely ill: her skin has a gray hue, she is limp, and she has vomited blood. Roos tries to rouse her, but Agnes only moans and convulses. Ruth appears and calmly reveals that she mixed ground glass into Agnes's food, intending to kill her. Roos is horrified and accuses Ruth of being a monster, but Ruth deflects, blaming Roos for abandoning her and sacrificing her. Ruth then suggests that if Roos binds Agnes as a spirit before she dies, Agnes might return to her, and warns that if Roos takes the pills herself, she will never see Agnes again. Roos, desperate, strikes Ruth, breaking her jaw, and then performs a blood-binding ritual over Agnes, cutting her own hand and letting blood fall into Agnes's mouth while speaking words of binding.

Peter arrives, drawn by the scent of blood, and gathers Agnes in his arms, biting her face, throat, and hands in a frantic attempt to revive her. He drinks her blood, and Roos, in a moment of grief-induced madness, also drinks from Agnes's wound, understanding the intimacy of the act. Roos then dresses Agnes in her favorite dress and prepares her for burial. They leave the house, toppling plaster saints that Thomas had placed to intimidate them, and confront Thomas standing beside his sister's corpse. Thomas reveals that he crept into Agnes's room the previous night and frightened her into drinking her pill-laced water and eating the glass-laced food, leaving no pills for Roos. He taunts Roos with the promise of endless suffering, but Roos feigns indifference, telling him she doesn't care what happens to her now that Agnes is dead. Thomas, bored by her lack of reaction, releases her and disappears.

Peter insists on carrying Agnes to the bog alone, but allows Roos to say goodbye. Roos kisses Agnes's brow, apologizes, and whispers a final binding request for Agnes to come haunt her. Peter then carries Agnes away, keening. Roos returns to the house and buries Willemijn in the graveyard, though she remembers only flashes of the act. Back in her room, she tries to cover the wardrobe carvings but fails, and the carved figures seem to come alive, laughing and mocking her. She begins punching the wood in a frenzy, and the police find her in this state, having been alerted by a poacher who discovered Willemijn's body on the lawn.

The chapter ends with a therapy session transcript. The doctor tells Roos that powdered glass cannot kill a person, citing expert opinions, and that Agnes's autopsy revealed a large number of ground-up pills, indicating an accidental overdose. Roos is stunned, but the doctor insists that Agnes's death was not caused by Ruth or Roos, but by Agnes's own confusion and psychosis. Roos, overwhelmed, faints.

Key Events

Roos discovers Agnes dying from what appears to be ground glass poisoning.
Ruth confesses to mixing glass into Agnes's food and suggests binding Agnes as a spirit.
Roos strikes Ruth and performs a blood-binding ritual over Agnes.
Peter arrives and drinks Agnes's blood; Roos also drinks, then dresses Agnes for burial.
Roos and Peter topple plaster saints and confront Thomas, who reveals he manipulated Agnes into consuming her pills and the glass-laced food.
Thomas releases Roos after she feigns indifference.
Peter carries Agnes to the bog alone; Roos says goodbye and buries Willemijn.
Roos hallucinates the wardrobe carvings laughing and is found by police battering the wood.
In therapy, the doctor explains that powdered glass cannot kill and that Agnes died from an accidental overdose of pills.

Character Development

Roos: This chapter shows Roos at her lowest point. She is consumed by guilt, believing she caused Agnes's death by bringing Thomas's spirit back and renouncing Ruth. Her grief drives her to perform a desperate binding ritual and to drink Agnes's blood, an act of utter intimacy that she now understands. Her confrontation with Thomas reveals a new defense mechanism: feigned indifference. By pretending she doesn't care, she robs Thomas of his sadistic pleasure and secures her release. Yet her mental state deteriorates rapidly, culminating in a hallucinatory breakdown and her arrest.
Ruth: Ruth's manipulation reaches its peak. She calmly admits to poisoning Agnes and then twists the situation to force Roos into binding Agnes as a spirit, ensuring Roos won't take the pills and escape her. Ruth's cruelty is chilling, but her accusation that Roos made her a monster hints at a twisted logic born of abandonment.
Peter: Peter's grief is visceral. He bites and drinks from Agnes's wounds, keening like an animal. His devotion to Agnes is clear, and he insists on carrying her to the bog alone, honoring the ritual that might bring her back as a spirit.
Thomas: Thomas reveals his sadistic nature, admitting he frightened Agnes into consuming her pills and the glass-laced food. He takes pleasure in Roos's suffering, but when she feigns indifference, he loses interest and releases her, showing that his power depends on his victims' fear.
The Doctor: The doctor offers a rational counterpoint to Roos's supernatural beliefs, insisting that Agnes's death was an accidental overdose, not murder. His attempt to absolve Roos of guilt is both compassionate and destabilizing, as Roos cannot accept a reality where she isn't to blame.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Ground Glass as Poison: The belief that powdered glass kills is a recurring motif, but the doctor reveals it's a myth. This underscores the theme of unreliable belief and the power of superstition over fact.
Blood Drinking as Intimacy: Roos drinks Agnes's blood, understanding why spirits crave it. The act symbolizes a profound connection, a binding that transcends death.
Spirit Binding and Threefold Repetition: Roos repeats her binding words three times, emphasizing the ritual's power. The motif of threefold repetition appears again when she says goodbye to Agnes, reinforcing the idea that words can make things real.
Guilt and Self-Blame: Roos is consumed by guilt, believing she caused Agnes's death. The doctor's revelation that Agnes died from an accidental overdose challenges this, but Roos's guilt is so entrenched that she cannot accept the truth.
Manipulation and Coercion: Ruth and Thomas both manipulate Roos and Agnes. Ruth uses emotional blackmail to force Roos into binding Agnes, while Thomas uses fear to drive Agnes to overdose.
Medical vs. Supernatural Explanation: The therapy session presents a stark contrast between the doctor's rational explanation and Roos's supernatural worldview. This tension highlights the novel's exploration of psychosis and delusion.
Indifference as Defense: Roos's feigned indifference to Thomas is a powerful defense, showing that apathy can disarm a sadist. It also reflects her despair: she truly doesn't care if she lives or dies.
Malevolent House Influence: The house's carvings seem to come alive, laughing at Roos, suggesting the house itself is a source of madness. This motif ties to the novel's gothic atmosphere.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is the climax of Agnes's death and Roos's descent into despair. It reveals the truth about Thomas's manipulation and the doctor's rational explanation, which undermines Roos's entire narrative of guilt. The chapter also solidifies the bond between Roos and Peter, as they share in the ritual of blood and burial. Roos's breakdown and arrest set the stage for the final chapters, where she must confront the gap between her supernatural beliefs and the medical reality of Agnes's death. The doctor's attempt to save Roos by absolving her of guilt is both a lifeline and a challenge to her identity.

Study Questions and Answers

Why does Roos perform the blood-binding ritual on Agnes, and what does it signify?

Roos performs the ritual because Ruth suggests it as the only way to see Agnes again after death. Roos cuts her hand and lets blood fall into Agnes's mouth, speaking words of binding. The act signifies Roos's desperation and her willingness to embrace the supernatural to hold onto Agnes. It also establishes a connection that Roos hopes will bring Agnes back as a spirit, echoing the earlier binding with Ruth.

How does Thomas's revelation about Agnes's death change the reader's understanding of the events?

Thomas reveals that he frightened Agnes into drinking her pill-laced water and eating the glass-laced food, leaving no pills for Roos. This shows that Agnes's death was not solely Ruth's doing; Thomas's manipulation was a direct cause. It also reveals Thomas's sadistic pleasure in tormenting Roos, and his release of her only when she feigns indifference. This complicates the blame, as Roos later learns from the doctor that Agnes actually died from an accidental overdose of pills, not the glass.

What is the significance of the doctor's explanation that powdered glass cannot kill?

The doctor's explanation challenges Roos's belief that Ruth killed Agnes. He cites expert opinions and the autopsy report, which found a large number of ground-up pills in Agnes's stomach. This suggests Agnes died from an accidental overdose, likely due to her psychosis and confusion. The doctor's revelation is meant to absolve Roos of guilt, but it also undermines her entire narrative, forcing her to reconsider what really happened. It highlights the theme of unreliable memory and the power of rational explanation over supernatural belief.