Chapter 5: Pollard's Tavern – 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
Martha Ballard arrives at Pollard’s Tavern in pre-dawn Hallowell, smelling wet-wood smoke from the chimneys. The tavern serves multiple civic functions—tavern, courthouse, meeting hall, and in this case a mortuary. James helps her dismount, and Martha tucks her gloves into her riding skirt pockets before entering with practiced calm.
Inside, seven men who pulled the body from the ice are gathered, with Chandler Robbins already drunk. Martha silences their uproar and asks for an explanation. Moses Pollard explains that the body—cut from the Kennebec River ice—has been laid in the back storeroom rather than on the eating tables, at his mother Abigail’s insistence. Amos Pollard confirms his wife threatened to wring his neck if they used the tables.
Martha observes the room: ten worn tables, two large hearths, flagstone floor smelling of candle wax and wood polish. She notes that Abigail Pollard, though capable with animals, cannot stomach human blood—an exception Martha makes because Abigail’s squeamishness is endearing. Martha notices Moses’s interest in her daughter Hannah and gives him an approving smile as she passes.
Amos warns Martha the sight isn’t pretty, and she replies that little about her work is. The men follow her to the storeroom, muttering about the frozen river and a Negro woman back in the Hook. When the storeroom door creaks open, the men draw back collectively, prompting Martha’s internal observation that men facing death are either culprits or cowards.
Martha asks for two lanterns. Moses brings them, and the light reveals Joshua Burgess on the table, clearly dead. Two things are immediately obvious: the body is Joshua Burgess, and he has been hanged. His neck is snapped at an unnatural angle with rope burns and a protruding windpipe. Foodstuffs hang from the rafters—ham hocks contrast with the corpse, making one man gag.
Martha ignores the commotion and focuses. She rolls up her sleeves, dons her linen apron, and makes a roving assessment. She asks Moses for a wash basin with hot water and clean rags. He hesitates, questioning why clean a dead man, especially one accused of rape. Martha states she is examining him because it is her job.
When Moses returns with the basin and rags, Martha tests him—if he intends to marry Hannah, he cannot show less mettle than she would. Moses agrees to assist, and Martha rewards him with a rare, bright smile. She notes that her husband says she is not generous with her smiles, but there is usually little to smile about.
Martha asks Moses to find scissors in her bag. He does, then stations himself behind her. She examines Burgess’s body: ice still clings to his hair and torso. She pulls hair from his mouth, revealing the oblong strawberry birthmark at his temple—confirming his identity. Sections of clothing were cut away when the men hacked at the ice. Martha notices the rope burns and the ghastly white protrusion of the windpipe from a vertical split in his neck.
She asks Moses if there was a rope around Burgess’s neck when he came out of the ice. Moses doesn’t recall one. Martha sends him to ask the others; they saw no rope. She concludes the killer took it with her, and sets this troubling detail aside.
Martha reflects that Burgess lived on a small homestead three miles down Winthrop Street—a third-tier lot typically assigned to single men with scant means. He wanted river frontage for the mill trade, but all lots are leased. She mentions his animals need tending; Moses volunteers to have his father send someone. Amos sends three men to move the animals to neighbors and collect valuables for safekeeping until family can be found.
Martha continues her examination, feeling Burgess’s scalp for hidden wounds—none found. She cuts away what remains of his shirt and steps back. Burgess is not large but is extremely hairy, with a beard and dark coarse hair on his chest, arms, and back. His body is covered with bruises, broken ribs, arm, and fingers. When she cuts away his trousers, she sees his groin is also damaged. At this, the remaining witnesses depart gagging and cursing—few men can stomach crushed genitals.
Moses stays but shows distress only through a twitching jaw. He whispers that Burgess deserved it, and that if it had been his sister, he would have killed him too and would not feel bad. The comment marks where Moses’s loyalties lie in the scandal dividing the community.
Martha washes away blood and dirt, ignoring the fading exclamations from the tavern. She continues her meticulous inspection of each bruise, cut, and gash. Footsteps approach behind her, and Moses shifts uncomfortably, speaking her name in warning.
A young gentleman stands in the doorway—Dr. Benjamin Page, freshly shaven and smug. Martha demands his identity. He introduces himself as Dr. Benjamin Page, here in Dr. Cony’s stead while Cony is in Boston. Page dismisses Martha as an amateur and insists he is more capable as a licensed physician and Harvard graduate. Martha tightens her grip but forces herself to relax her hands. She states she has already completed the assessment. Page steps forward with a fake smile, suggesting her amateur observations might be interesting but that he will take it from here.
Martha stands her ground, having concluded that Joshua Burgess was beaten, hanged, and thrown in the river.
Key Events
- Martha arrives at Pollard’s Tavern at dawn and silences the gathered men.
- Moses Pollard explains the body was cut from the river ice and placed in the storeroom.
- Martha inspects the tavern’s interior and notes Abigail Pollard’s aversion to human blood.
- Martha examines Joshua Burgess’s body, confirming identity by the strawberry birthmark.
- She determines Burgess was beaten, hanged, and thrown in the river.
- The rope from the hanging is missing—the killer took it.
- Moses assists with the examination and expresses sympathy for the killer.
- Dr. Benjamin Page arrives, challenges Martha’s authority, and claims he will take over.
Character Development
Martha Ballard demonstrates her professional competence, composure, and methodical approach to death investigation. She controls the room with authority, silences the men, and insists on doing her job despite the disturbing nature of the body. Her willingness to test Moses reveals her protective instincts toward her daughter and her high standards for those who would marry into her family. She remains calm under challenge from Dr. Page.
Moses Pollard shows his desire to impress Martha and earn her approval—likely motivated by his interest in courting Hannah. He assists with the examination despite his discomfort, proving his mettle. His whispered comment about Burgess deserving death reveals his personal stance on the rape accusation and hints at the community’s divided loyalties.
Amos Pollard appears as a sturdy, practical man who follows his wife’s wishes regarding the body placement. He sends men to tend Burgess’s animals, showing a sense of duty even toward a social outcast.
Dr. Benjamin Page arrives as an antagonist—young, credentialed, dismissive of Martha’s expertise. His smug demeanor and insistence on taking over the examination establish a conflict between formal medical authority and Martha’s experiential knowledge.
Joshua Burgess is defined posthumously through the evidence of violence against his body—beaten, hanged, with crushed genitals. The missing rope suggests premeditation by the killer.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Justice and vigilantism – The chapter examines how a community responds to an alleged rapist. Moses’s statement that he would have killed Burgess too reflects a belief in extrajudicial punishment that divides the town. The missing rope implies the killer acted deliberately.
Gender and authority – Martha faces dismissal from Dr. Page, a young male physician with credentials she lacks. She asserts her expertise through action rather than title. The conflict between amateur midwife and licensed doctor highlights the gendered hierarchy of medical practice in 1789.
The body as evidence – Martha’s systematic examination treats Burgess’s corpse as a source of truth. Each bruise, break, and wound tells a story. Her method contrasts with the men’s emotional reactions of gagging and retreating.
Community and its spaces – Pollard’s Tavern serves multiple roles: tavern, courthouse, meeting hall, mortuary. The multipurpose space reflects how a small village concentrates its social functions in one building. Abigail’s insistence on not using the eating tables shows the need to separate death from daily life.
Cold and revelation – The frozen river and icy body symbolize the harsh reality of death and the preservation of evidence. The thawing ice allows examination, while the cold itself has preserved certain details.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 5 establishes the central mystery of Joshua Burgess’s death and introduces the conflict between Martha Ballard’s practical expertise and Dr. Benjamin Page’s institutional authority. The chapter deepens the community’s division over the rape accusation against Burgess, with Moses’s comment revealing that many sides in the Hook are sympathetic to Rebecca Foster. Martha’s meticulous examination—noting the missing rope, the beating, the hanging—lays the groundwork for her investigation. The arrival of Dr. Page threatens to undermine her role and sets up a power struggle over who will control the narrative of Burgess’s death.
Study Questions and Answers
1. What four details of Joshua Burgess’s body lead Martha to conclude he was murdered rather than the victim of an accident or suicide?
Martha finds evidence of a severe beating including bruises, broken ribs, arm, and fingers, plus crushed genitals. She observes rope burns at his neck with a snapped windpipe indicating hanging. The missing rope shows that someone removed it deliberately after the hanging. Finally, the body was thrown into the river, which cannot happen by accident if a man has already been hanged. Together these details point to deliberate homicide.
2. How does the chapter portray the divide in Hallowell over the assault accusation against Burgess?
Moses’s whispered comment that Burgess deserved death and that he would have killed him too reveals that at least some in the community sympathize with Rebecca Foster and approve of extrajudicial punishment. The men who assisted in retrieving the body all seem sympathetic to Foster, as Martha notes when Moses questions why she would clean a “criminal” and “rapist.” Yet the presence of a formal challenge from Dr. Page suggests the establishment will not simply let the death go uninvestigated.
3. What is the significance of Martha testing Moses during the examination?
Martha’s test serves multiple functions. As a mother, she wants to see if Moses has the toughness required to marry her daughter Hannah. Professionally, she needs an assistant who will not faint or flee—and Moses passes by staying present despite his discomfort. The test also strengthens their alliance at a moment when Martha’s authority is about to be challenged by Dr. Page, giving her a witness who trusts her methods.