Chloe Day Character Analysis: The Outsider Who Unknowingly Wakes Mockbeggar Woods

Overview: The Outsider Who Breaks the Village's Silence

Chloe Day is Sam Unthank's fiancée and the catalyst for the events of Small Angels. An outsider to the village, she discovers the abandoned Small Angels church on a visit and books it as her wedding venue after the original church falls through. What she doesn't know—and what the villagers have spent decades not knowing—is that the church sits at the edge of Mockbeggar Woods, where a malevolent presence called Harry Child has been contained by copper coins driven into a tree. When Chloe removes the remaining coins from a ruined cottage in the woods, she unknowingly wakes him, setting the novel's central conflict in motion.

Chloe is defined by her position as an outsider who refuses to accept the village's code of silence. Where the villagers deliberately avoid knowing about Mockbeggar, Chloe insists on knowing—she asks questions, explores the woods, and demands explanations. This trait is both her strength and her undoing.

Plot Role

Chloe's role in the plot is twofold. First, she is the unwitting agent of disruption: her decision to book Small Angels reopens a church that the Gonne family had maintained in secret, and her removal of the copper coins from Harry Child's tree wakes him after years of quiet. Second, she is the novel's point-of-entry character—through her, the reader discovers the village's secrets alongside her.

The outline establishes that Chloe booked Small Angels after the original venue fell through, a spur-of-the-moment decision. In Chapter One, Brian Last warns her about the church, telling the story of the Gonne family and Paul Gonne's strange funeral. Sam dismisses Brian as a crank and promises to tell Chloe the rest later, saying it is not a nice story.

Chloe's curiosity is immediate and persistent. When Sam puts her off, she offers to go and find Brian herself, and the narrative notes that being put off only increased her curiosity.

Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions

Chloe's motivations are rooted in her upbringing. Her father is a vicar, and she grew up spending Sundays in his church, handing out hymn books and playing hide-and-seek with the verger's children. She wanted the familiar smell of her family's church—candlewax, coffee, and old paper—for her wedding, along with the reassurance of a religion that was kindly and took a hopeful view of the world.

This is a key contrast: Small Angels smelled wrong to her, and the narrative suggests the religion there was not tame. Chloe's desire for a comforting, manageable version of faith leads her to a place where faith is anything but manageable.

Chloe is also characterized by her practicality and her tidy mind. When she first books the church, she dismisses Brian's story as rubbish and tells herself there is nothing to worry about in her church but grime and a few stray nails. She throws herself into cleaning and decorating with energy and determination, working alongside Kate and Birdie to scrub the church and arrange flowers.

But her curiosity is stronger than her practicality. When strange events begin—the ruined veil, the scratching at the church door, the voice next door—she considers rational explanations first, then psychological ones, and finally admits it might all be real.

Her decision to enter the woods despite warnings shows both her courage and her recklessness. She tells Sam she had to know and no one was talking to her. This is the core of her character: she cannot accept the village's willful ignorance.

Chronological Arc

Chloe's arc moves from ignorance to knowledge to responsibility.

Ignorance: She discovers Small Angels on a visit to the village and books it as her wedding venue, unaware of its history. At the engagement party, she is cocooned in joy, the world seeming made for her delight and convenience.

Disquiet: Strange events begin—the ruined veil, the scratching at the church door, the voice next door. Chloe tries to rationalize them, then fears she is going mad.

Knowledge: She enters the woods against Sam's explicit warning, eats blackberries that were not meant for her, and hears the woods thinking. She meets Lucia Gonne, who leads her out. She confronts Sam, who admits the village deliberately avoids knowing about Mockbeggar.

Responsibility: After the attack at the wedding, Chloe learns the full truth: she woke Harry Child by removing the copper coins. Her response is immediate and direct: she declares it was her fault and that she woke him. When Kate tries to absolve her, Chloe persists, asking whether that is why Harry chose her.

Resolution: Chloe goes through with the wedding as planned, as part of the escape plan. Afterward, she assures her parents she is safe, and Brian takes over care of the church from her.

Relationships

Sam Unthank: Chloe's fiancé. Sam is protective and evasive—he dismisses Brian's story, delays telling Chloe the truth, and is angry when she enters the woods. Chloe's frustration is clear when she asks whether he could not trust her with something the whole village knows. Kate observes that Sam sees Chloe as his beacon of sanity and safety, and that he loves the world that nurtured her.

Kate Unthank: Sam's sister. Kate initially resents Chloe for embroiling her in the wedding and its complications, but she also protects her—dragging her from the church during the attack, caring for her afterward with mint tea and bicarbonate of soda, and mending her torn wedding dress. Chloe pins a cornflower to Kate's waistcoat as a gesture of thanks.

Lucia Gonne: Their first meeting is hostile—Lucia rescues Chloe from the woods with reluctant and charmless grace. But Lucia's actions ultimately save Chloe's life: she rings the bells of Small Angels during the attack, which distracts Harry Child.

Brian Last: The local historian who warns Chloe about the church. She initially dismisses him as a crank but later comes to understand he was right.

Key Decisions and Consequences

1. Booking Small Angels: Chloe's spur-of-the-moment decision to book the church reopens a space that had been the Gonnes' private sanctuary. Kate reflects that Chloe was barreling into the Gonnes' sanctuary and filling the air with synthetic lemon.

2. Removing the copper coins: Chloe's visit to the ruined cottage and her removal of the remaining copper coins wakes Harry Child. This is the novel's central causal event.

3. Entering the woods: Despite Sam's explicit warning, Chloe enters the woods to find answers. This leads to her encounter with Lucia and her first direct experience of the woods' power.

4. Going through with the wedding: Despite knowing Harry Child could strike her down at any time, Chloe goes through with the ceremony as part of the escape plan.

Themes and Symbols

Storytelling as a living force: Chloe's story is a cautionary tale about what happens when stories are suppressed. The village's refusal to tell the truth about Mockbeggar allows Harry Child to fester. Chloe's insistence on knowing—on demanding the story—is what ultimately forces the truth into the open.

The sentient woods: Chloe's experience of the woods—hearing them thinking, feeling them happy about something coming—demonstrates the woods' agency. They are not a passive setting but an active force.

The burden of memory and the past: Chloe's childhood church represents a comforting, manageable version of the past. Small Angels represents the past as it actually is: unruly, dangerous, and unwilling to stay buried.

Sacrifice and redemption through retelling: Chloe's willingness to accept responsibility for waking Harry Child is a form of sacrifice. Her honesty contrasts with the village's evasion.

Secrecy, community, complicity, and shared truth: Chloe is the outsider who breaks the village's code of silence. Her questions force Sam to admit the village's deliberate ignorance, and her presence ultimately leads to the Gonnes' decision to share their story with the village.

Questions and Answers

1. Why does Chloe book Small Angels as her wedding venue?

Chloe discovers the church on her first visit to the village and is drawn to it. When the original venue—Bill and Birdie's village church—falls through at the last minute, she makes a spur-of-the-moment decision to book Small Angels and the Tithe Barn at a bargain price. She is unaware of the church's history or its connection to Mockbeggar Woods.

2. How does Chloe unknowingly wake Harry Child?

During a visit to a ruined cottage in Mockbeggar Woods, Chloe removes the remaining copper coins from a tree. The coins had been driven into the tree by Lucia and her sisters to prevent Harry Child's return. Chloe later realizes what she has done and declares it was her fault.

3. Why does Chloe enter the woods despite being warned not to?

Chloe enters the woods because she feels something is wrong and no one will explain it to her. She tells Sam she had to know and no one was talking to her. She is experiencing strange events—the ruined veil, the scratching at the church door—and fears she is going mad. The woods offer answers, even if they are dangerous ones.

4. How does Chloe respond when she learns she woke Harry Child?

Chloe immediately accepts responsibility, declaring it was her fault and that she woke him. When Kate tries to absolve her, Chloe persists, asking whether that is why Harry chose her. She does not try to deny or minimize her role.

5. What happens to Chloe after the wedding?

In the days after the wedding attack, Chloe assures her parents she is safe. Brian takes over care of the church from her, and the entrepreneur offers Sam and Chloe a partial refund. The novel's final chapters focus on Kate and Lucia's reconciliation and the Gonnes' decision to share their story with the village.

For more on the novel's themes, see our analyses of storytelling as a living force, the sentient woods, the burden of memory and the past, sacrifice and redemption through retelling, and secrecy, community, complicity, and shared truth. You can also read our ending explained guide or browse common questions and answers.