Chapter 17: Wenna – Summary and Analysis
⚠️ 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
The chapter opens with the family harvesting late cranberries, only to find the fruit rotted from within—black, icy, and inedible. A few days later, the first snowfall arrives, dark and sludgy, and Wenna, Nora, Eda, and Charlie gather at the third-floor gallery window to watch, while Percy remains outside. The cold drives them to resume their childhood habit of sleeping in nests of blankets before the hearth, taking turns feeding the fire.
Wenna, determined to change the family's situation, begins sorting the house's accumulated heirlooms and junk into sellable and discardable piles. She finds relics in the attic, pantry, and parlor, and plans to eventually tell Nora that her menagerie of animals must go. But first she needs to confront Charlie about the deed to the house. After weeks of hesitation, she finds him mucking the goat shed and asks about removing the hemlock tree that has been stuck through the roof. Charlie agrees, attributing the tree to the bog's doing, but when Wenna proposes selling the house, he refuses, citing the compact and their role as custodians. He gives her money for the tree removal but insists the house cannot be sold.
Wenna arranges for a tree-removal crew. The chapter includes a flashback to a childhood incident when a stranger crossed the property line, causing the family to hide in the cellar and later re-mark the boundary with lime and salt, spitting into the furrows. This memory underscores the family's deep fear of outsiders.
When the crew arrives, the truck sinks into the peat, and the men struggle for hours. They cut down the hemlock, but the trunk falls unexpectedly, and the hole in the roof becomes much larger. The driver warns that the surrounding trees have unstable, buttressed roots and may fall in future storms. After the crew leaves, Wenna reflects that the bog would die whether they stay or leave it to someone else.
Key Events
- Late cranberry harvest yields rotted, inedible fruit.
n- First snowfall; siblings watch from gallery; Percy absent.
n- Family resumes sleeping by the hearth.
n- Wenna sorts heirlooms, plans to sell house.
n- Wenna confronts Charlie about the deed; he agrees to tree removal but refuses to sell.
n- Flashback to stranger crossing property line; family hides and re-marks boundary.
n- Tree-removal crew arrives; truck sinks in peat.
n- Hemlock tree cut down; trunk falls unexpectedly; roof hole enlarged.
n- Driver warns about unstable roots of surrounding trees.
n- Wenna reflects that the bog will die either way.
Character Development
Wenna emerges as the driving force for change in this chapter. Her sorting of the house's junk and her decision to approach Charlie about the deed show a pragmatic, forward-looking mindset. She is willing to break with tradition, even if it means upsetting her siblings. Her fear of the bog's slow dying pushes her to act, but she also feels the weight of her choices, as seen in her panic when the truck sinks and her reflection at the end.
Charlie is portrayed as resigned and burdened. He agrees to the tree removal but cannot bring himself to consider selling the house, citing the compact and their custodianship. His lack of conviction and his comment that the bog doesn't work for him as it did for others reveal his sense of inadequacy and guilt. He almost sounds like a patriarch when he forbids the sale, but his tone is more sorrowful than authoritative.
Eda reacts with anger and silence, refusing to speak to Wenna when the crew arrives. Her resistance highlights her attachment to the old ways and her suspicion of outsiders. Nora is anxious and distressed, tearing at her eyebrows and watching the truck as if trying to destroy it with her mind. Percy remains absent, but his obsession with trespassers is noted, suggesting he would be deeply disturbed by the crew's presence.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- The bog's slow dying: The rotted cranberries and the spoiled air Wenna breathes signal the bog's decline. Wenna's fear of this decay motivates her actions, but she ultimately realizes the bog is doomed regardless.
n- The compact and custodianship: Charlie's refusal to sell the house is rooted in the family's supposed duty as bog custodians. The compact represents an unbreakable bond that traps the family, even as the bog fails.
n- Fear of outsiders: The flashback to the stranger crossing the property line illustrates the family's extreme isolation and paranoia. The ritual of re-marking the boundary with lime and salt and spitting into the furrows reinforces their belief that outsiders are a threat.
n- Winter isolation: The snowfall, the cold, and the family's retreat to the hearth emphasize their physical and emotional seclusion. Winter becomes a time of holding still and avoiding change.
n- The hemlock tree as punishment: Charlie believes the tree was sent by the bog as punishment, a belief instilled by their father. The tree's removal is both a practical act and a symbolic rejection of that guilt.
n- The house as a symbol of the family's fate: The hole in the roof, enlarged by the tree's removal, suggests that attempts to fix the situation may only make it worse.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter marks a decisive turning point in the novel. Wenna takes concrete action to break from the family's past by arranging the tree removal and proposing to sell the house. The arrival of the crew—the first outsiders in years—shatters the family's isolation and forces them to confront the outside world. The removal of the hemlock, however, does not solve their problems; it leaves a larger hole and a warning about unstable roots, symbolizing the fragility of their existence. Wenna's final reflection that the bog would die either way underscores the inevitability of change and the impossibility of preserving their old life. This chapter sets up the central conflict between staying and leaving, and it foreshadows the family's eventual dissolution.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Charlie refuse to sell the house, and what does his reasoning reveal about his character?
Charlie refuses because of the compact and his belief that they are the bog's custodians. He also has no idea where else they would live. His refusal shows his deep-seated loyalty to the family's role and his fear of change, despite his lack of conviction. He is trapped by tradition and guilt, unable to imagine a life outside the bog.
2. How does the flashback to the stranger crossing the property line illuminate the family's attitude toward outsiders?
The flashback shows the family's extreme fear of outsiders, leading them to hide in the cellar and later re-mark the boundary with lime and salt, spitting into the furrows. This ritual underscores their isolation and the belief that outsiders threaten their way of life. It also explains why the siblings react with such anxiety to the tree-removal crew.
3. What does the tree removal symbolize in the context of the chapter?
The tree removal symbolizes Wenna's attempt to break free from the bog's hold, but it also results in a larger hole in the roof and the driver's warning about unstable roots, suggesting that the attempt to change may cause more damage and that the bog's decline is inevitable. The tree, once a punishment, becomes a catalyst for the family's confrontation with the outside world.