Chapter 6 Summary: Waking the Litch
⚠️ 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
Chapter 7 opens with Charlie Ovid reflecting on his past. He has no memory of his father, only the stories his mother told him before her death. She described his father as a good but troubled Englishman who believed in a better world, one where people like them could belong. Charlie carries his father’s silver wedding ring, marked with twin crossed hammers and a fiery sun, as a kind of talisman. He has long harbored a vague wish to find his father’s grave somewhere along the wagon trail to California, but he knows that as a half-Black boy alone in the American South, such a journey is impossible.
Charlie’s life changes when Mr. Coulton, an Englishman bearing the same crest as Charlie’s ring, arrives to escort him across the Atlantic. They travel on the SS Servia, then by train to London’s St Pancras Station. Throughout the journey, Charlie is struck by how differently he is treated in England. No one flinches from him, no one looks at him with disgust, and he does not know how to respond to being seen as an ordinary person rather than a threat.
They arrive at 23 Nickel Street West in Blackfriars, a tall, ornate row house. There they meet Margaret Harrogate, a stout woman with a birthmark covering half her face. The house is filled with unsettling objects, including a specimen jar holding a malformed human fetus. Charlie is given a room and, exploring, discovers a tied, gray, undead figure in an upstairs bed. This is Walter Laster, a litch—a person who is both dead and not dead. Margaret explains that Laster was once a friend and confidant of a man named Jacob Marber, who apparently preserved him after his death. Coulton and Margaret discuss the danger of keeping the litch in the house, and Margaret reveals that Laster has been talking, offering insights into Jacob Marber’s plans, including his search for a weapon called a keywrasse.
Margaret sends a bonebird—a strange, clockwork-feathered messenger—to Dr. Berghast with a message about the Marlowe child and Charlie. She then drugs Charlie’s food and conducts an examination in the cellar, a soundproof room with a drain in the floor and a chair fitted with iron manacles. Under the influence of the drug, Charlie answers her questions about his past, his mother, and his father. He admits he wants to find his father’s grave and that he has never felt he belonged anywhere. Margaret notes his talent as a haelan—a rare ability to heal—and seems satisfied with the examination.
That night, Charlie wakes in the parlor. He hears a door creak open and investigates. The litch has escaped its bonds. It attacks him, and Charlie fights it through the house, shattering the specimen jar over its head, then flees into the rain-slicked streets of London. The litch pursues him relentlessly, crawling along walls and under bridges. Charlie finally manages to knock it from a bridge into the Thames, where it plunges into the dark water. He is left shaking, alone on the bridge, unsure whether the wetness on his face is rain or tears.
Key Events
- Charlie recalls his mother’s stories about his English father and his wish to find the man’s grave.
- Mr. Coulton escorts Charlie from Mississippi to London, first by steamship, then by train.
- They arrive at 23 Nickel Street West, where Margaret Harrogate greets them.
- Charlie discovers the tied, undead body of Walter Laster, a litch.
- Margaret sends a bonebird message to Dr. Berghast about the Marlowe child and Charlie.
- Margaret drugs Charlie and examines him in the cellar, questioning him about his past and his talent.
- Margaret and Coulton discuss Jacob Marber’s return and his search for a keywrasse.
- The litch escapes its bonds and attacks Charlie.
- Charlie fights the litch through the streets of London and knocks it from a bridge into the Thames.
Character Development
Charlie Ovid is the emotional center of this chapter. His internal monologue reveals a boy shaped by loss, violence, and a deep sense of not belonging. He has killed before—a boy named Isaiah, an overseer, and a deputy—and he carries the guilt of those acts heavily. His healing talent is physical, but he reflects that the real hurts inside him never get better. His wariness of Margaret and even of Coulton shows his hard-won survival instincts, yet his decision to trust Coulton, at least partially, marks a small but significant step. By the end of the chapter, he has survived a supernatural attack through sheer will and physical strength, but he is left shaken and alone.
Mr. Coulton is revealed as a more compassionate figure than his gruff exterior suggests. He treats Charlie with a respect the boy has never experienced from a white man. He is also practical and wary, urging Margaret to kill the litch rather than keep it. His past encounter with a litch in Japan hints at deeper experience and trauma.
Margaret Harrogate is enigmatic and unsettling. She is efficient, secretive, and willing to drug a child to extract information. Yet she also shows a flicker of pity, calling Charlie “the poor thing” and reflecting that the children deserve better. Her loyalty to Dr. Berghast is clear, but her methods are morally ambiguous.
Walter Laster, the litch, is less a character than a threat, but his presence raises questions about Jacob Marber’s power and the nature of litches.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Race and Prejudice: Charlie’s experiences in England contrast sharply with his life in Mississippi. The chapter emphasizes how race shapes identity and opportunity. Charlie’s observation that white people walk through the world as if it could change highlights his own sense of powerlessness.
Belonging and Alienation: Charlie has never felt he belongs anywhere. His father’s ring is a symbol of a connection he cannot fully grasp. His wish to find his father’s grave represents a desire for roots and identity.
Physical vs. Emotional Healing: Charlie’s haelan talent allows his flesh to heal from any wound, but he notes that his emotional scars never heal. This contrast is central to his character.
Freedom vs. Captivity: The litch is tied and drugged, yet it escapes. Charlie is examined in a chair with iron manacles, ostensibly for safety. The chapter explores the tension between control and freedom, and the costs of both.
Trust and Deception: Charlie trusts Coulton more than Margaret, but he trusts neither fully. Margaret drugs him to get answers, a clear betrayal of trust. The chapter asks whether any of the adults can be trusted.
The Litch as a Symbol: The litch—dead yet not dead—represents the unnatural and the unresolved. It is a physical manifestation of the horrors that lurk beneath the surface of this world.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter is pivotal for several reasons. It establishes Charlie’s backstory and emotional wounds, making him a sympathetic and complex protagonist. It introduces the concept of litches and the keywrasse, both of which are likely to be significant later in the novel. It also reveals Jacob Marber’s return and his interest in the Marlowe child, setting up a major plot thread. Finally, the chapter ends with Charlie alone and shaken, having survived a supernatural attack, which raises the stakes and leaves the reader eager to see what happens next.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Charlie feel he cannot search for his father’s grave, and what does this reveal about his character?
Charlie cannot search for his father’s grave because he is a half-Black boy with no family and no name, and he knows that wandering through the American South would put him in danger. This reveals his deep sense of alienation and his awareness of the racial violence that surrounds him. It also shows that his desire to honor his father is a powerful but unfulfilled longing, one that shapes his decision to trust Coulton and travel to England.
2. What is a litch, and why is Walter Laster significant to the plot?
A litch is a person who is both dead and not dead, preserved by unnatural means. Walter Laster is significant because he was a friend and confidant of Jacob Marber, and his presence in the house indicates that Marber has returned and is active. Laster has also been talking, revealing that Marber is searching for a weapon called a keywrasse. This information sets up a major conflict for the rest of the novel.
3. How does Margaret Harrogate’s examination of Charlie reflect the chapter’s themes of trust and deception?
Margaret drugs Charlie’s food and then questions him in a room designed to inspire fear, using restraints and a drain in the floor. This is a clear deception, as Charlie has no idea he has been drugged. The examination reflects the theme of trust and deception by showing that even those who claim to protect Charlie may use manipulation and coercion to achieve their goals. It also highlights the power imbalance between the adults and the children in this world.