Chapter 32: The Taxi Ride to Hagar’s

⚠️ 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

On her final night at Wellwood Home, Fern watches It! The Terror from Beyond Space with Ginger and Jasmine, trying to convince herself she will forget everything when she goes home to her father tomorrow. Zinnia wakes her in the middle of the night, begging for help with Holly, who has hidden in Rose’s old attic room and is in labor. Fern reluctantly agrees to check on Holly, finding her in severe pain under a bed. Though Holly begs not to be sent to the hospital, Fern fetches Nurse Kent. Zinnia has covertly recruited other girls (Violet and Willow) to stage fake medical emergencies, distracting Nurse Kent long enough for Zinnia and Fern to load Holly into a waiting taxi. Fern initially insists on the hospital, but Zinnia pressures her to redirect the cab to Hagar Sunday’s house. The driver, Darius, initially resists, but after a tense exchange, he reluctantly agrees. At Hagar’s rural home, Hagar at first refuses to help, but after examining Holly she orders the girls to carry her inside. Fern and Miriam carry Holly into Hagar’s house as the taxi drives away.

Key Events

Fern watches a monster movie with Ginger and Jasmine, trying to steel herself to forget Wellwood when she goes home.
Zinnia wakes Fern and asks her to check on Holly, who is hiding in the attic and in labor.
Fern finds Holly under a bed, in severe pain and begging not to be taken to the hospital.
Nurse Kent is called but is immediately distracted by staged emergencies from Violet (claiming Iris is in distress) and Willow (claiming heavy bleeding).
Zinnia and Fern take Holly to a waiting taxi while Nurse Kent is upstairs.
Zinnia manipulates the taxi driver, Darius, into stopping at Hagar Sunday’s house instead of the hospital.
Hagar initially refuses to help, but after examining Holly, she orders the girls to bring her inside.
Fern and Miriam carry Holly into Hagar’s home as the taxi drives away.

Character Development

Fern spends the chapter trying to dissociate from her experiences at Wellwood, repeating her mother’s maxim, “Keep your eyes on your own knitting.” Her initial refusal to help Zinnia shows how deeply she wants to bury her trauma. But she proves unable to abandon Holly, and her decision to redirect the taxi reveals a growing willingness to act against authority when the stakes are life and death.

Zinnia demonstrates sophisticated manipulation, coordinating with Violet and Willow to create diversions. Her single-minded focus on getting Holly to Hagar’s rather than the hospital shows she is driven by a belief that the system will fail Holly, even if her methods are ethically questionable.

Holly is nearly voiceless throughout the chapter, reduced to gasps and pleas. Her helplessness underscores the vulnerability of the girls at Wellwood and the limited choices available to them.

Nurse Kent is overworked and distracted, unable to attend to multiple emergencies at once. Her curt dismissals of Willow and Violet reveal how institutional neglect enables the girls to work around her.

Hagar Sunday initially refuses involvement but does not hesitate once she sees how far along Holly’s labor is. Her pragmatism contrasts with the institutional coldness of the Home.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Birth as a Site of Control

The chapter frames childbirth not as a natural process but as a site of institutional power. Holly’s fear of the hospital is rooted in her knowledge that her baby will be taken from her and given to Reverend Jerry. Fern’s thoughts about nurses “shaving her rough, giving her an enema, leaving her alone for hours, cutting her open” reinforce how medical care for these girls is entangled with coercion.

Sisterhood and Solidarity

Despite her stated desire to remain uninvolved, Fern cannot refuse to help Holly. The chapter shows the girls forming a covert network to protect one another from the Home’s authority. Zinnia orchestrates the diversion; Violet and Willow play their parts; Fern carries Holly. This solidarity is fragile and morally ambiguous, but it is the only protection they have.

The Wedding Ring Trick

Fern gives Holly her father’s wedding ring to make her appear married at the hospital. This small object represents Fern’s awareness of how the world judges unmarried mothers and her attempt to buy Holly a measure of dignity. It also echoes Fern’s own complicated relationship with marriage and fidelity.

Forgetfulness vs. Witnessing

Fern repeatedly tells herself she will forget Wellwood, the witches, and the other girls. But her actions contradict this: she cannot stop herself from intervening. The chapter suggests that some experiences are too profound to be simply erased.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 32 marks the climax of Fern’s arc at Wellwood. She arrived hoping to have her baby quietly, sign the adoption papers, and return to her old life. This chapter shows that transformation cannot be undone. By choosing to help Holly escape the hospital—and by extension, escape Reverend Jerry’s custody of her baby—Fern aligns herself with the subversive, sisterly network Zinnia has been building. The chapter also brings Zinnia’s plan to full fruition: the girls have finally taken direct action outside the Home’s walls. Hagar’s house, a space outside institutional authority, becomes a sanctuary for the kind of birth these girls need: one free from the state’s designs on their children.

Study Questions and Answers

Why does Fern initially refuse to help Zinnia, and what changes her mind? Fern refuses because she is leaving tomorrow and wants to forget everything that happened at Wellwood, including the trauma of Rose’s death, the witch lore, and her complicated feelings for the other girls. She changes her mind when she sees Holly in pain and hears her begging; Fern cannot abandon someone who reminds her of her own vulnerability.
How does Zinnia manage to get Holly out of the Home without Nurse Kent stopping them? Zinnia recruits Violet and Willow to stage fake medical emergencies—Iris’s breathing trouble and Willow’s supposed bleeding—which distract Nurse Kent long enough for Zinnia, Fern, and Holly to reach the waiting taxi. This coordinated deception shows that the girls have learned how to exploit the Home’s understaffed, reactive systems.
What does Fern’s decision to give Holly her father’s wedding ring reveal about her understanding of the world? Fern knows that unmarried mothers are treated poorly at hospitals. By giving Holly the ring, Fern tries to grant her the social legitimacy that married women receive without question. It is a small, practical act of protection that reveals Fern’s bitter awareness of how institutions judge poor and pregnant girls.