Chapter 14 Summary: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls — The Blood Pact

⚠️ 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 four girls—Fern, Rose, Zinnia, and Holly—sitting apart from Miss Parcae by the riverbank. Holly, who has been silent for weeks, abruptly shares the truth about her life at home. Her parents are devout followers of a charismatic preacher called The Reverend Jerry, who has been sexually abusing Holly since she was eight. When Holly tried to tell her mother, she got her mouth washed out with Lifebuoy soap. When she told her father, she received a whipping. Her parents preemptively told Miss Wellwood that Holly is "feebleminded" to discredit any stories she might tell. Holly is pregnant with Reverend Jerry's child, and she knows he plans to adopt the baby and eventually abuse that child too. Holly has been thinking that dying in childbirth like her cousin did might be her only escape.

The other girls absorb this horrible revelation. Fern realizes that Diane's earlier gossip about a minister adopting a baby referred to this same Reverend Jerry. Rose and Zinnia are initially skeptical about whether anyone will believe Holly, given that even her own parents didn't. Fern, however, refuses to accept that nothing can be done. She calls out to Miss Parcae, asking if she can keep Holly from going home.

Miss Parcae approaches and lays out the terms: she can give the girls the tools, but they must do the work themselves. In exchange, they must renounce God, turn their backs on the world of men, and pledge eternal loyalty and obedience to her. Fern agrees on behalf of the group, then turns to the others and asks, "What's God ever done for us anyway?"

They find a clearing by a fallen tree. Miss Parcae has Zinnia scratch a circle in the dirt, Rose scoop a hole for firewood, and then uses matches from Rose's cigarette pack to start a small fire. She assigns each girl a cardinal direction based on an element: Holly is north (earth), Fern is east (air), Zinnia is west (water), and Rose is south (fire). Miss Parcae instructs them to go "skyclad"—naked. She undresses first, unashamed of her aging body, and tells the girls not to hate themselves. Reluctantly, they remove their T-shirts and nightgowns.

Miss Parcae explains that their use of the Craft has been noticed and they must now become initiates. The first step is to break ties to their old lives by "reading free"—reciting words of law or prayer backwards to destroy their meaning. Zinnia volunteers to say the Lord's Prayer backwards and in pig Latin. The girls walk widdershins (counterclockwise) around the circle as Zinnia leads them through the mangled prayer. When they finish, out of breath and grinning, Miss Parcae prompts them to keep walking.

Standing in the center by the fire, Miss Parcae invokes goddesses: Diana, Hecate, the Sibyl, Herodias, Epona, Medea, and others. She spins with a stick, touching each compass point as the girls pass, chanting about spear and cauldron, lance and grail. When she stops, the girls stop too.

Miss Parcae explains the Witch's Sixpence: a blood price paid for each working. To become witches, the girls must pledge loyalty to her. Fern steps forward first. Miss Parcae produces a book in a grubby orange library binding, its pages covered in gothic script. She tells Fern to kneel and consider her heart's desire. Fern thinks about each girl's wish—Holly's freedom, Rose's money, Zinnia's baby and marriage—but then realizes her own heart's desire is for Holly not to go home.

Miss Parcae says "So mote it be." She produces a small black-handled knife and slices Fern's thumb, then has Fern press her bloody thumbprint onto the page. Fern feels nothing different afterward. Zinnia approaches next, declaring she doesn't believe in magic and is only participating as a symbolic gesture of support for Holly. Rose follows with a single "Shit" as the blade cuts her. Holly goes last, terrified of going to Hell. Miss Parcae rephrases the knife as a key and Holly's thumb as a lock, saying she is about to turn the key and set Holly free. Holly eventually agrees, and Miss Parcae helps her press her thumb to the book.

Miss Parcae tells them the coven must fulfill Holly's wish. Fern promises Holly that whatever it takes, she won't go back home. When the girls ask what happens next, Miss Parcae tells them they're witches now and they must read the book, practice their Craft, and fulfill their heart's desire. She gives them no further instructions, telling them to read the book more closely.

She sends them back through the woods in a line, eyes closed, led by Rose. The girls are disappointed by the anticlimax. Rose complains about having to do homework. Zinnia calls it a waste of time. They admit they all wished for Holly's safety. Holly walks beside Fern, thanking her, and asks if she thinks it will help. Fern lies and says yes, then wonders privately: "It couldn't hurt, could it?"

Key Events

Holly reveals her abuse: Holly confesses that Reverend Jerry has been sexually abusing her since she was eight, that her parents never believed her, and that she is pregnant with his child.
The girls learn the adoption plan: Fern connects Diane's earlier gossip to Reverend Jerry, realizing he intends to adopt Holly's baby and continue the cycle of abuse.
Fern confronts Miss Parcae: Fern asks Miss Parcae directly if she can prevent Holly from being sent home, and Miss Parcae agrees—if the girls pledge themselves to her.
The initiation ritual: The four girls go skyclad, form a circle by the river, walk widdershins, and recite the Lord's Prayer backward in pig Latin.
Invocation of goddesses: Miss Parcae calls on ancient female deities and performs ceremonial acts with a stick and compass points.
The blood oath (Witch's Sixpence): Each girl slices her thumb and leaves a bloody thumbprint in Miss Parcae's grimoire, formally pledging loyalty.
Fern's heart's desire: Rather than wishing for herself, Fern wishes for Holly's freedom from Reverend Jerry.
Holly's fear of Hell: Holly is deeply conflicted about witchcraft because of her religious upbringing, but ultimately goes through with the oath after Miss Parcae reassures her.
The anticlimactic return: Miss Parcae dismisses the girls with vague instructions to study the book and sends them home on a blind trust walk through the woods.

Character Development

Holly: Holly transforms from a silent, withdrawn girl into someone who finally tells her story. She believes she is "ugly" and worthless, internalizing her parents' abuse. Her confession reveals deep trauma—she has been thinking about dying in childbirth as her only escape. Joining the coven represents a desperate act of hope, even as she fears damnation. Her willingness to participate shows she wants to live, even if she can't see a way forward on her own.
Fern: Fern emerges as the group's leader in this chapter. She is the one who calls out to Miss Parcae, volunteers first for the blood oath, and promises Holly she won't go home. Fern's heart's desire—that Holly not be sent back to Reverend Jerry—shows her growth from a passive, frightened girl into someone who takes action for others. She lies to reassure Holly at the end, but her doubt ("It couldn't hurt, could it?") shows she's still uncertain about the path they've chosen.
Rose: Rose is pragmatic and rebellious throughout the chapter. She questions Miss Parcae's methods but also defends her when Zinnia calls the librarian a con artist. Rose's line about "everything they say is bad is good" shows her countercultural thinking. She leads the blind trust walk at the end, and her disappointment with the ritual's lack of immediate payoff reveals she expected instant results.
Zinnia: Zinnia is the skeptic. She calls Miss Parcae a con artist and participates only as a "symbolic gesture" for Holly. She references 1984 ("war is peace, freedom is slavery") to push back against Rose's anti-establishment rant. Zinnia's intellectual reserve sets her apart, but she still makes the blood oath, suggesting her skepticism is a shield rather than genuine disbelief.
Miss Parcae: Miss Parcae shifts from eccentric old woman to commanding priestess. She is unashamed of her aging body and tells the girls not to hate themselves. She speaks matter-of-factly about witchcraft, framing it as practical knowledge. She dismisses the girls casually after the ritual, telling them to read the book, and her final, weary posture on the tree trunk suggests she is not as all-powerful as she pretends to be. She smokes Rose's cigarette, a small act of theft that humanizes her.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Escape from patriarchal control: Every girl in the coven is fleeing some form of male oppression: Reverend Jerry's abuse, the Third's control over Rose's money, Dr. Vincent's dietary restrictions, Zinnia's parents' rejection. Witchcraft represents the only tool of rebellion available to them.
Blood as currency: The Witch's Sixpence—the blood price—establishes that power has a cost. The girls must pay in pain and loyalty, not just belief. Blood binds them to Miss Parcae and to each other, creating a coven that replaces their broken families.
Inversion and resistance: Reciting the Lord's Prayer backward in pig Latin is a deliberate act of desecration that mirrors the girls' need to invert the values of the society that has failed them. The widdershins (counterclockwise) direction further emphasizes this reversal.
The body as a site of shame and power: Miss Parcae's nakedness—her sagging belly, dimpled thighs, gray pubic hair—is presented without apology. She challenges the girls (and the reader) to reject internalized shame. The girls undress too, but Fern looks away, showing she has not yet unlearned that shame.
Knowledge as liberation: Miss Parcae says librarians "deliver knowledge to those who need it." The grimoire is described as ordinary and unremarkable, but it holds the power to change their lives. The girls must read and understand it themselves; Miss Parcae will not do the work for them.
Trust and blind faith: The walk through the woods with eyes closed, led by Rose, is a test of trust. Fern worries about falling, and Zinnia questions the point. Miss Parcae's eventual admission that she just wants a cigarette undercuts the mysticism, but the exercise still requires the girls to rely on one another.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is the turning point of the novel. The girls move from passive victims of circumstance to active agents who choose their own path—even if that path leads into dangerous and uncertain territory. Holly's confession grounds the supernatural elements in real-world horror: the abuse she has suffered is not metaphorical, and her plea for help is desperate and concrete. The witchcraft initiation is not a game; it is a survival strategy born from systemic failure. Every adult who should have protected Holly—her parents, her teachers, her church—has betrayed her. Miss Parcae's coven, for all its strangeness, is the first community that takes Holly seriously and offers her a way out.

The chapter also establishes the rules of the novel's magic system (the Witch's Sixpence, the importance of heart's desire, the grimoire as a text that must be studied) while leaving room for ambiguity. Zinnia's skepticism is not dismissed, and the girls' disappointment after the ritual suggests that the real work is just beginning. Fern's choice to wish for Holly's freedom rather than her own signals her moral growth and sets up the central conflict of the remaining chapters: can the coven use their newfound power to protect one of their own?

Study Questions

Why does Fern choose to wish for Holly's freedom rather than for her own desire? What does this decision reveal about Fern's character development at this point in the story? Fern's choice shows she has moved beyond self-preservation. Earlier in the novel, Fern is largely reactive, trying to survive her confinement. Here, she identifies with Holly's suffering and prioritizes saving someone else over solving her own problems. This selflessness aligns with the coven's communal ethic and marks Fern as the moral center of the group.
Miss Parcae tells the girls, "They hate us enough. Don't hate yourselves, too." How does this line connect to the chapter's treatment of shame and the body? How do the girls respond to her directive? Miss Parcae's nudity and her refusal to apologize for her aging body directly challenge the girls' internalized shame. Fern and Zinnia look away, unable to meet her gaze, showing they have not yet learned this lesson. Rose responds with sarcasm, deflecting vulnerability. The line underscores that the girls' oppression operates not only through external forces (parents, church, state) but also through self-hatred they must unlearn.
The chapter ends with Fern wondering, "It couldn't hurt, could it?" What does this final thought suggest about Fern's expectations for the coven's magic? How does it create suspense for the reader? Fern's question reveals both hope and doubt. She has committed to the oath and promised Holly she won't go home, but she is not certain the magic will work. This ambiguity generates suspense: will the girls actually gain power, or have they simply been duped? The phrase also echoes the classic caution about unintended consequences in witchcraft stories, hinting that magic may carry risks Fern hasn't anticipated.