O Holy Night, The Mass Card, Cave Paintings, Blancmange, See No Evil

Wow! These must be the most exciting chapters I've read throughout the entire journey of this novel. For once, I really got into the book, and didn't want to put it down. The narrative structure of these chapters is very skewed, as each chapter is sort of told from a different point of view. We begin, as Kathleen is dying in bed; a very rude awakening from the slow pace of the last chapter. She is dying in childbirth in the attic, and Maternia makes a split second decision to let her daughter die to save the twin babies she is birthing. Three days after she makes this decision, she kills herself in the oven. As we move into The Mass Card we see Frances at the church when her mother has died. From there, we go back in time to see James having a mental breakdown, because of the death of Kathleen; Maternia is still alive at this point. Young Frances decides, that since her father is not going to baptize the babies, she shall do it herself in the river. She baptizes the girl first, but then, upon hearing her father coming, accidentally drowns the baby boy. We progress to the funeral of Kathleen, and then to Mercedes point of view as she comes downstairs just in time to see Maternia kill herself. From there, we backtrack to see how Mercedes watched from her bedroom window as Frances accidentally drowned the baby boy on the night of his birth.

So much to say about this section! I feel like the pieces have finally come to fit!

I really enjoyed how MacDonald began this chapter suddenly, with Kathleen almost dying. It gave us a sense that death is sudden, and a life full of promise and youth can be snuffed out by death, with no forgiveness or mercy. The reader contrasts the youthful cheeky Kathleen, who seemed to be the centre of the story in the previous section, to the dead Kathleen in this section. Kathleen, fearsome, powerful in life is now: "An abandoned mine. A bootleg mine, plundered, flooded; a ruined and dangerous haft, stripped of fuel and coal, of fossil ferns and sea anemones and bones.." (MacDonald 136) It made me think that, everyone is the "hero" of their own story, just as Kathleen was the main character here. But death can occur at any given time, without empathy or discrimination, and it will leave you bare and empty, with no use to the world. It was just a really powerful way of saying that life is very delicate, and one isn't guaranteed any time in this world, before one's great resources become an abandoned mine.

Obviously, guilt is a big theme in this chapter. Maternia killed herself because she felt guilty letting Kathleen die. She knows that "the real reason I let my daughter die was because she was better off that way" (MacDonald 138). Here, we see an interesting contrast in Maternia. She told The Devil previously that she'd let him take Kathleen, if he'd spare her other daughters. However, it is now apparent that he's taken Maternia with him, as well as Kathleen. However, Maternia swore she had no love for her daughter. Her guilt does not stem from her religion; she did the right thing in God's eyes. The guilt was enough for her to clean everything in her house meticulously (not unlike Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth,) before succumbing to her grief. It guilt inevitable in some situations, no matter what good choice is made?

Mr Mahmoud refuses to come to Maternia's funeral: "For him the funeral is redundant" (MacDonald 141). Did Maternia really die when she met James and became unhappy? She has been described as being a zombie-like woman for the majority of her time with James. Was she just ready to leave her body, as her "spirit" had already passed with such traumas at such a young age? This reader personally feels a little relief for poor Maternia; she is not suffering under the roof of James any longer.

The tragic innocence, and loss of innocence is explored through the characters of Frances and Mercedes in this section. When Kathleen is close to dying the two girls "have made a little shrine and given up sweets for as long as it takes her to get well" (MacDonald 146). Here, before the loss of innocence, the girls are still young, and still believe that not eating candy and sweets with result in their sister getting better. Such adorable behaviour, is turned around when the events begin to spin out of control. Mercedes becomes a stronger character, "When her nerves have heated up enough, when they are white-hot, they'll be plunged into cold water, tempered and strong for ever. Strong enough to support a building or a family.." (MacDonald 155). We also learn that Frances has learned how to lie (as mentioned in the above paragraph. We can begin to see the outline of both their characters; Mercedes is courageous and righteous, while Frances might have a manipulative side to her. MacDonald foreshadows from Mercedes' eyes: "Why is she so bad? Some people are just made that way" (MacDonald 156).

Again, the theme of perception is revisited. Frances, in the church laughs, but her father thinks she is crying: "Frances learns something in this moment that will allow her to survive and function for the rest of her life. She finds out that one thing can look like another" (MacDonald 142). This section is also told from very different points of view, as we see almost each scene from a different character's eyes. Like the memories we are being presented by the narrator, how much of what we see is what we get? Are there other secrets, just like in any family, that have yet to be uncovered?

Strange to me, Pete, the demon that haunts Kathleen appears to her before she dies. Is this the devil that Maternia has allowed to take Kathleen? Is it symbolic of James and his chilling relationship with his daughter? Is it symbolic of the environment she grew up in? After Frances accidentally drowns the baby, "The only thing different about this morning is that, if you look out at the garden, you'll notice that the scarecrow is gone, and in it's place there's a big rock" (MacDonald 156). The reader is left to wonder where the scarecrow went, and if it had any correspondence to the loss of Kathleen and the appearance of Pete. The reader is not not if the scarecrow leaving is frightening, or a relief. MacDonald uses cliffhangers in many of her chapters; this page is no different.

I love the dark humour that is a constant throughout the story. MacDonald uses witty, sharp lines to add grim laughs into the story: "Mercedes was going to bake it in the oven. But her mother is using the oven" (MacDonald 152). This of course is a reference to the time that Maternia has killed herself in the oven. this casual, innnocent approach to the suicide of a mother is horrible, yet sort of hilarious in a very evil way.

The baby that is accidentally drowned is named Ambrose, and St. Ambrose's quotes appear on each of the dead Piper's mass cards. The name Ambrose means immortal in Latin. From what I can gather about the next few chapters, the metaphorical ghosts of the dead Pipers "haunt" the pages of the novel, as in they never really die. As in they are immortal. Just a thought!

Interesting Vocabulary
-Respite: A short period of rest. Kathleen has a respite before she dies in childbirth.
-Wimple A cloth headdress. Frances observes that the Nun's wimples look like gothic cathedrals.
-Phalanx A group of people together for a common purpose.
-Complaisant Agreeable or pleasing. James observes his mental picture of Mary and Jesus, saying they look as such.