The Storm Symbol in Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
What the Storm Literally Is
The Storm in Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is a supernatural hailstorm summoned through blood magic. It first appears as a half-formed working during a river ritual by Fern and Holly (Chapter 23), then gets bottled by Hagar and buried under the porch (Chapter 24). Later, Fern retrieves it in a Nehi bottle, smashes it, and uses her own blood and pain to fully unleash it (Chapter 35). The storm destroys the roof, windows, and vehicles of Wellwood House, embodying the girls’ suppressed rage and desire for destruction.
Where the Storm Recurs
The storm appears in three key stages across the novel:
- Attempted summoning (Chapter 23): Fern and Holly perform a complex ritual invoking Hecate, but the storm stalls because their pain isn’t great enough. They are interrupted by Hagar.
- Bottled and buried (Chapter 24): Hagar forces them to “bottle up that baby storm” in a Nehi bottle, tying it with knots and burying it under the porch to prevent it from causing harm.
- Unleashed (Chapter 35): Fern cuts her tongue, performs a blood ritual calling Hecate, and the bottled storm explodes into a violent hailstorm that tears Wellwood House apart.
The storm is alluded to earlier when Rose curses Miss Wellwood using a poppet (Chapter 19), though that working is separate. The storm motif also appears in Holly’s earlier desire for power and in the coven’s initiation (Chapter 14), where blood is exchanged for power.
How the Storm’s Meaning Changes
The storm’s meaning shifts from potential liberation to suppressed anger to catastrophic defiance.
- First attempt: For Fern and Holly, the storm represents a way to save Holly from Reverend Jerry. It is a hopeful, if reckless, tool of escape. The failure shows that half-measures cannot break institutional control.
- Bottled by Hagar: Hagar treats the storm as a dangerous, childish mistake. Burying it symbolizes the girls’ power being contained by the very adults who claim to care for them. The storm becomes a buried resentment.
- Final unleashing: When Fern finally summons the storm with a blood sacrifice of her own tongue, it is no longer about saving one person. It becomes an expression of collective rage against Wellwood House, the police, and the system that punishes them. The storm’s indiscriminate destruction mirrors the indiscriminate oppression the girls face.
Character and Theme Connections
Fern
Fern is the storm’s summoner. Her willingness to pay a “greater Sixpence” (cutting her tongue) shows her growth from passive victim to active agent. The storm is hers, but it also belongs to the collective.
Holly
Holly is the one who initially wants the storm to escape her father, Reverend Jerry. Her inability to cut her tongue during the first ritual highlights her vulnerability; later, Fern does it for her, cementing the storm as a singular sacrifice.
Rose
Rose’s use of sympathetic magic against Miss Wellwood (Chapter 19) parallels the storm ritual, but Rose’s anger is personal and focused. The storm is more chaotic, representing the anger of all the girls.
Zinnia
Zinnia rejects witchcraft as a trick and a distraction. She represents practical resistance, but the storm ultimately serves her cause too, as it facilitates Holly’s escape.
Themes
- Witchcraft as Empowerment: The storm shows magic as a tool of last resort, requiring blood and pain, but it forces the world to listen.
- Bodily Autonomy: The storm is birthed from Fern’s body (she “birthed Holly’s storm”), connecting magical creation to pregnancy and loss of control.
- Institutional Oppression: The storm destroys Wellwood House, the physical symbol of the Home and its police allies. The institution must be torn down for the girls to be free.
- Female Solidarity: Though Fern performs the ritual alone, the storm is built on the earlier work of her coven—Holly, Rose, and even Zinnia’s skepticism shapes it.
- Motherhood and Loss: The storm mimics birth; Fern’s pain and blood midwife it, echoing the novel’s focus on forced pregnancies and stolen children.
Study Questions
1. Why does Fern’s first attempt at summoning the storm fail, and what does this failure reveal about the ritual’s requirements?
The first attempt fails because Fern and Holly do not inflict enough pain. The book states, “Blood and pain are the midwives to every spell. When a working struggles to be born you must lubricate it with pain.” Holly cannot bring herself to cut off her tongue. The failure shows that effective witchcraft requires complete personal sacrifice—half measures cannot override the oppressive systems they face.
2. How does the storm’s destruction of Wellwood House connect to the theme of bodily autonomy?
Wellwood House is a prison for pregnant teenage girls, controlling their bodies, diets, and futures. By destroying its roof, windows, and vehicles, the storm physically tears down the institution that controls them. The storm’s “birth” from Fern’s blood and tongue parallels the girls’ forced pregnancies: they are denied control over their own bodies, so they reclaim that control through supernatural violence. The storm literally breaks the walls that contain them.
3. What role does Hagar play in the storm’s creation and containment, and how does her perspective differ from the girls’?
Hagar represents folk wisdom and protective caution. She bottles the storm to prevent harm, but she also respects its power: “Never leave anything half-done.” She burns their witch book and forces them to bury the storm, acting as an authority figure who limits their agency. Unlike the girls, who view magic as a path to freedom, Hagar sees it as dangerous and foolish. Her containment of the storm foreshadows how the institution tries to suppress female rage, but ultimately fails.
4. How does the storm change after being bottled, and what does its intensified fury suggest about suppressed anger?
When Hagar bottles the storm, it curdles and grows denser, “batter[ing] itself against the container” and working itself into a fury. Once unleashed, it is far more destructive than the original “baby storm.” This suggests that suppressed anger does not dissipate; it intensifies. The girls’ rage, constantly denied and buried by the Home, becomes catastrophic when finally expressed. The storm’s violence mirrors the pressure-cooker environment of Wellwood House and the desperation of its inhabitants.