Chapter 8: Calla & Daphne — 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 in the immediate aftermath of Rosalind's funeral. The four surviving sisters—Iris, Calla, Daphne, and Zelie—lock themselves in their sitting room for two days, refusing to change out of their black funeral dresses. They subsist on bland food left outside the door, sleep fitfully, and grieve in silence. Daphne drinks a series of miniature bottles of liquor she stole from the Hotel Cream, while Calla, in a disturbing ritual, pricks her fingers and arms with a rose thorn, licking the blood and speaking in riddles about the curse that haunts the Chapel women. She recasts the fairy tale of Briar Rose, insisting that for them, a man's embrace brings not awakening but an eternal sleep. Daphne, drunk, makes dark jokes about the same fate, and Zelie is frightened by the exchange. Iris tries to comfort Zelie but is herself unsettled by Calla's fatalistic words.

Two days later, Calla insists on going to New York to buy a dress for the Spring Fling, having accepted Teddy Vandiver's invitation at the last minute. Iris, worried about Calla's fragile state, agrees to accompany her. They take the train to Manhattan, walk seventeen blocks in the rain, and shop at Bloomingdale's. Calla buys a Moonlit Kisses cosmetics set—a silver box containing a powder compact, perfume, lipstick, eye shadow, and a moonstone barrette—and insists on buying a second one for Iris. They have lunch at Llewellyn's, a dark, masculine restaurant where Calla orders a cocktail and a lavish meal, smoking cigarettes and playing the part of a sophisticated woman. During lunch, Calla asks Iris what she wants to be when she grows up, and whether she would choose a family or a career. Iris, for the first time, admits she wants to be an artist and chooses a career. Calla approves, saying that having a family isn't safe.

They return home that afternoon, and no one has noticed their absence. The next evening, Calla gets ready for the dance, her hands trembling as she applies the Moonlit Kisses makeup. She wears a green formal and silver heels, and Teddy arrives to pick her up. As she leaves, she pauses in the doorway, taking in the room as if memorizing it.

When Calla doesn't return by early morning, Daphne, Zelie, and Iris decide to go looking for her. Daphne, clearly drunk, drives erratically and crashes the car into a tree near the Popplewells' house. Iris and Zelie flee on foot, leaving Daphne to take the blame. Back home, they learn that Calla still hasn't returned. The next day, Calla's body is found in a motel room; the cause of death is listed as unknown. Teddy is questioned by police but cleared. The family holds a small, private funeral, with no church service. At the funeral home, Daphne is overcome with grief, throwing a chair and then lifting Calla's body out of the casket to embrace her. Iris removes the moonstone ring from Calla's finger as a memento.

Days later, Daphne goes missing. The family learns from Veronica at the Hotel Cream that Daphne arrived there, distraught, and after drinking heavily, ran into the sea and swam out until she disappeared. A search is called off after no trace is found. Iris and Zelie, the only two remaining sisters, stand together on the beach and vow to run away together, determined to escape the fate that claimed their sisters.

Key Events

The sisters lock themselves in the sitting room for two days of mourning, during which Calla pricks herself with rose thorns and speaks of the curse.
Calla and Iris travel to New York, where they shop at Bloomingdale's and have lunch at Llewellyn's; Iris reveals her ambition to be an artist.
Calla attends the Spring Fling with Teddy Vandiver and does not return home.
Daphne crashes the car while searching for Calla; Iris and Zelie flee the scene.
Calla is found dead in a motel room; the cause of death is never determined.
At Calla's funeral, Daphne embraces the body; Iris takes the moonstone ring.
Daphne disappears after swimming into the sea at the Hotel Cream; the search is called off.
Iris and Zelie vow to run together, the only two sisters left.

Character Development

Iris emerges as the narrator and observer, increasingly aware of her own desires. Her admission that she wants to be an artist marks a turning point—she begins to imagine a future outside the family's tragic pattern. She also shows a protective instinct, accompanying Calla to New York and later taking the moonstone ring as a keepsake, a small act of defiance against oblivion.

Calla is portrayed as both ethereal and self-destructive. Her trip to New York reveals a desperate hunger for life—she wants to feel the city vibrate through her bones—but also a fatalistic acceptance of the curse. Her self-harm with the rose thorn and her cryptic talk of eternal sleep suggest she sees death as inevitable. Her final moments, as described by Iris, echo the heroines she admired, like Ophelia and the Lady of Shalott.

Daphne is consumed by grief and alcohol. Her bond with Calla was especially close, and her reaction to Calla's death is violent and raw. Her decision to swim into the sea is both an act of despair and a surrender to the fate she always feared.

Zelie remains fragile and dependent, seeking comfort in food and the presence of her sisters. Her fear of the curse is palpable, and she clings to Iris as the family collapses.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

The curse of the Chapel women: Calla's speech about Briar Rose and the idea that a man's embrace brings death reinforces the family's belief in an inescapable fate.
The fairy tale motif: The chapter reworks