Chapter 13 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

In November 1594, Alison is left alone in a dungeon cell in Kirkwall, Orkney, after Father Colville and the others depart. Mr. Addis bolts the heavy metal doors, and Alison dresses herself, pulling on her shift, stockings, dress, and kirtle, and wrapping her shawl tightly. She notices the bloody cuts on her scalp and the pain in her mouth from the parson's needle. The cell is foul, with no chamber pot or water, and only two hay bales teeming with insects. She pushes them together to form a bed off the wet stone floor.

For four days and nights, she receives no food or water. She thinks of her husband William and their children, and of neighbors Angus and Maggie, who often gave extra milk, and Agnes, who might come looking for her. The dungeon walls are damp, and after the third day she is driven to gather moisture running along the stone. The taste is bitter at first, but as her thirst grows, it seems sweeter. She recalls Earl Patrick, who is said to have three trumpeters herald each meal, and her mother's stories—of a dragon that breathed water, and a king's feast where the food revealed itself to be his own children.

On the fifth day, she calls out to Mr. Addis, who sits by a fire at the end of the hallway, cutting dead flesh from his feet. He ignores her until she shouts louder. He approaches, sneering, and she petitions for food and visitors. He mentions that prisoners usually eat rats, but she insists on the law. He then asks if she can make a potion for his arse worms, which the physician's goose fat has not cured. She agrees, requesting wormwood, orange water, comfrey, garlic, and eel grease. He brings gruel and the ingredients, and she prepares the potion in a glass jar, resisting the urge to drink the orange water.

Two nights pass, and Mr. Addis brings slop once a day. She hands him the finished potion, but he does not grant her visitors. A week passes, and Alison grows so weak she is unsure if she is alive. One night, Mr. Addis wakes her, along with Father Colville and David Moncrief. They force her to walk back and forth across the cell, kicking her awake whenever she sways into dreams. The room is lit by dozens of candles. As she walks, she hears voices and sees shadows. Father Colville spots a hare-shaped shadow in the cell window, and the men declare it to be the Devil. The shadow seems to change, taking the form of a tall man striding through the window. Father Colville instructs David to write down this sighting as damning evidence. Alison is terrified, praying to God, but the men insist the Devil has come to ensure her obedience.

Key Events

Alison is left alone in the dungeon, without food or water for four days.
She survives by licking moisture from the damp walls.
On the fifth day, she petitions Mr. Addis for food and visitors.
She agrees to make a potion for Mr. Addis's arse worms in exchange for provisions.
She requests specific herbs and ingredients, demonstrating her knowledge of folk medicine.
Mr. Addis brings gruel and the ingredients; she prepares the potion.
Over a week, she grows increasingly weak from hunger.
One night, Mr. Addis, Father Colville, and David Moncrief force her to walk.
They see a hare-shaped shadow in the cell window and declare it to be the Devil.
The shadow appears to take the form of a tall man, and Father Colville orders David to record it as evidence.

Character Development

Alison shows remarkable resourcefulness and survival instinct. Despite extreme deprivation, she uses her knowledge of herbs to bargain for food, even while her body is failing. Her internal thoughts reveal her deep connection to her family and her mother's folk tales, which provide a mental escape from her grim reality. She also demonstrates a critical awareness of the men's manipulation, questioning whether the shadow is truly the Devil or a trick of the light, though her fear ultimately overrides her doubt.

Father Colville emerges as a manipulative and calculating figure. He orchestrates the nighttime interrogation, using sleep deprivation to weaken Alison, and he actively interprets a natural shadow as supernatural evidence. His instruction to David to record the sighting shows his intent to manufacture a case against her.

Mr. Addis is portrayed as opportunistic and cruel, yet also vulnerable. He is willing to trade food for a potion, but he reneges on his promise to arrange visitors. His fear of the Devil and his complicity in the torture highlight his role as a pawn in the larger persecution.

David Moncrief is present as a witness and scribe. He voices the folk belief that cunning folk have familiars, and he complies with Father Colville's order to document the shadow, indicating his willingness to participate in the fabrication of evidence.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Starvation and Deprivation: Alison's lack of food and water is a form of physical and psychological torture. Her desperate licking of the walls underscores her vulnerability and the cruelty of her captors.

Herbal Healing Knowledge: Alison's ability to create a potion for Mr. Addis demonstrates the value of folk medicine, which is contrasted with the ineffective goose fat prescribed by the physician. This highlights the tension between institutional medicine and traditional knowledge.

Sleep Deprivation Torture: The forced walking and constant waking are used to break Alison's will and make her more susceptible to suggestion. This is a deliberate tactic to extract a confession or create a state where she might appear possessed.

Misinterpreted Natural Phenomena: The hare-shaped shadow is a natural occurrence—likely a trick of moonlight and clouds—but the men interpret it as the Devil. This motif illustrates how superstition and fear can distort reality.

Manufactured Evidence: Father Colville's insistence on recording the shadow as proof of Satan's involvement shows how the witch trials relied on fabricated or coerced testimony. The men actively construct a narrative to condemn Alison.

Isolation and Despair: Alison's solitude, broken only by her tormentors, amplifies her hopelessness. Her thoughts of family and home contrast sharply with her present condition.

Class Disparity: Alison's lowly status is evident in the way Mr. Addis treats her, and the reference to Earl Patrick's lavish meals underscores the gap between the powerful and the powerless.

Folk Tales and Storytelling: Alison's mother's stories—of the dragon and the king's feast—serve as a coping mechanism and a link to her heritage, but they also foreshadow the themes of betrayal and transformation.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is pivotal in illustrating the mechanics of witch persecution. It shows how the authorities use deprivation, sleep deprivation, and misinterpretation of natural events to build a case against an innocent woman. Alison's bargaining with Mr. Addis reveals her intelligence and resilience, but also the limits of her agency. The manufactured evidence of the Devil's appearance is a turning point, as it provides the men with what they consider