Chapter 20 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 Jesse Wilkie, a pub worker in Thornfield, noticing a black dog that vanishes like a shadow. When she looks up, the sky has turned red, and a blood-colored rain begins to fall. Jesse rushes inside the pub, but the accompanying mist follows her, and patrons begin to collapse. Gillian, who is at the pub for lunch, recognizes a curse and immediately uses a bar of black soap she carries, insisting everyone wash their hands. Two elderly men collapse, and Gillian demands lemons, ginger, salt, and hot water to treat them.

Meanwhile, Matt Poole drives through the village, seeing people run indoors and hearing crying. He notices the red sky hangs only over Thornfield, not beyond the town limits. He drives to the Wrights' cottage, where Ian and Margaret are. Margaret, recognizing the Red Death from her Grimoire, prepares remedies—rosemary, lavender, basil, mint, garlic, ginger, and an elixir of honey and boiled nettle. Ian drives Margaret to the pub, then heads to Lockland Manor, believing Tom Lockland is the cause. He walks through a trail of red powder in the manor's hallway and collapses in the parlor, poisoned.

Back at the inn, Kylie returns, barefoot and drenched, her eyes rimmed with black tears. Sally and Gillian bring her upstairs, where Franny tends to her. Franny uses black soap (originally made by Hannah Owens during the Black Death) and blue thread, but she realizes the illness is beyond ordinary remedies. She gives Kylie an amulet from Agnes Durant and decides to use The Book of the Raven to stop the rain. Franny cuts her palm, adds blood to a mixture, and recites an ancient Aramaic incantation that Amelia Bassano discovered. The red rain ceases, leaving the streets flooded with scarlet water.

Margaret continues to treat the ill in the pub, and Jesse calls for ambulances. Sally realizes Ian is missing and learns from Margaret that he went to find Tom Lockland for her sake. Franny gives Sally a spell written by Maria Owens, a pair of scissors, and a straight razor, telling her that every act of love requires a sacrifice. Sally and Gillian drive to Lockland Manor. In a forest glade, Sally cuts off all her hair, cuts her arm, and burns the hair as an offering. The smoke is milky white and smells of lilacs. Sally insists on entering the manor alone.

Inside, she confronts Tom Lockland, who taunts her about Ian and about stealing from Professor Wright. Sally holds up a mirror to reflect his attacks threefold and recites Maria's renunciation spell, giving up her own magic to banish him. A ghostly girl on the stairs repeats the incantation with her. Tom loses his power and flees as Gillian recites a Begone spell outside. Sally draws the poison from Ian with her last act of magic, and they reunite. Tom leaves Essex, telling a sympathetic story to a stranger. Sally's gray eyes turn pale blue, and she weeps that she is now normal. Ian reassures her that they still have magic together. The village begins to recover, and a town gathering is planned each May to remember the day.

Key Events

Jesse sees a red rain fall over Thornfield; patrons in the pub fall ill.
Gillian recognizes a curse and uses black soap to protect herself and others.
Matt Poole drives to warn the Wrights; Margaret prepares remedies from her Grimoire.
Ian drives Margaret to the pub, then goes to Lockland Manor, where he steps on red powder and collapses.
Kylie returns to the inn, sick; Sally and Gillian bring her upstairs.
Franny uses The Book of the Raven to stop the rain with an incantation.
Margaret tends to the ill in the pub; Jesse calls for ambulances.
Sally learns Ian went to Lockland; Franny gives her a spell and scissors.
Sally and Gillian drive to the manor; Sally cuts her hair and blood as a sacrifice.
Sally enters, confronts Tom Lockland, and recites a spell renouncing her magic to banish him.
Tom loses power and flees; Gillian recites a Begone spell.
Sally draws poison from Ian, and they reunite.
Tom leaves Essex; Sally loses her magic and becomes ordinary, her eyes turning blue.
The village begins to recover.

Character Development

Sally Owens undergoes the most profound transformation in this chapter. Throughout the novel, she has resisted her magical inheritance, wishing to be ordinary. Here, she makes the ultimate sacrifice: she gives up her magic entirely to save Ian and banish Tom. The act is both a fulfillment of her lifelong desire and a source of grief, as she realizes she is losing something she never wanted but now mourns. Her tears turn from black to clear, symbolizing her new ordinariness, yet her love for Ian remains unchanged.

Ian Wright demonstrates his commitment to Sally by risking his life to confront Tom. His earlier embarrassment about his feelings gives way to a clear declaration—he tells Sally they still have magic together, even without her powers. His survival and reunion with Sally reinforce the theme that love transcends magical ability.

Franny steps into a protective, maternal role, using her knowledge of the Book of the Raven to stop the rain and giving Sally the tools for sacrifice. Her embrace of Sally is uncharacteristic, showing her deep affection and her recognition of their shared fate.

Gillian remains loyal and practical, driving Sally to the manor and reciting a Begone spell to assist from a distance. Her sisterly bond is central to the chapter's resolution.

Tom Lockland is revealed as a figure driven by revenge and bitterness, but his power is ultimately hollow. He flees when confronted with Sally's renunciation, and his departure is marked by self-pity rather than redemption.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Sacrifice and Love: Sally's cutting of her hair and blood, and her renunciation of magic, embody the idea that love requires giving up something precious. The chapter states that for every act of love there is always a sacrifice.
Red Magic and the Threefold Return: The red rain is a curse of revenge, and Sally uses a mirror to reflect Tom's attacks back threefold. The motif of threefold return appears in the incantation and in the consequences of magic.
The Book of the Raven and the Grimoire: These texts represent the history and power of magic. Franny uses the Book of the Raven to stop what it started, while Margaret uses the Grimoire for healing.
Birds as Omens: The absence of birds during the curse and their return after Franny's incantation signal the restoration of balance. Crows appear above the manor as Tom loses power.
The Left Side and Fate: The chapter references the left hand as holding the future one has made, and the right hand as the future one is born with. Kylie's left palm lines have stopped, and Tom's lines disappear, suggesting that fate can be altered through choice.
Memory and Forgetting: The village plans an annual gathering to remember the day, emphasizing that disaster can strike at any moment and that memory is a form of protection.
The Key and the Lock: Vincent's metaphor—that Tom is the lock and Sally must know the key—underscores the idea that sacrifice is the key to breaking the curse.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is the climax of the novel's central conflict. It resolves the red-rain curse and the threat of Tom Lockland, while also completing Sally's character arc. Her decision to renounce her magic is a pivotal moment that redefines her identity and her relationship with Ian. The chapter also reinforces the novel's themes of sisterhood, sacrifice, and the enduring power of love over revenge. By having Sally become ordinary, the narrative suggests that true strength lies not in magical ability but in the choices one makes for others. The chapter sets up the aftermath for the final chapters, as the village recovers and Sally begins a new life without magic.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Sally choose to give up her magic, and what does this sacrifice reveal about her character?

Sally gives up her magic to banish Tom Lockland and save Ian. She recites Maria's renunciation spell, knowing it will strip her of her powers. This act reveals that she values love and the safety of others over her own abilities, even though she had always wished to be ordinary. The grief she feels at losing her magic shows that she has come to accept her heritage, making the sacrifice even more meaningful.

2. How does Franny's use of The Book of the Raven differ from Tom's use of it?

Tom used the book to call down the red rain as an act of revenge. Franny uses the same book to stop the rain, reciting an incantation that protects the village. Her intention is healing and protection, while Tom's was destruction. This contrast highlights the idea that magic itself is neutral; its morality depends on the user's purpose.

3. What role does the motif of the threefold return play in Sally's confrontation with Tom?

Sally holds up a mirror so that anything Tom sends out returns to him threefold. This reflects the novel's theme that harmful magic rebounds on the caster. Tom warns Sally that her renunciation will come back to her threefold, but she accepts the consequence, saying she relinquishes it all. The motif underscores the idea that actions have consequences, and that Sally's sacrifice is a deliberate choice to break the cycle of revenge.