Chapter 23 Summary

Cissy tells Valancy about the boy she met when she went away to work at a restaurant for the summer. This is the boy that fathered her baby. Cissy also tells Valancy what it was like for her sweet baby to die and for her to have to live on without him. A few days later, Cissy dies. When Roaring Abel roars into the driveway, Valancy goes down to tell him of Cissy's passing.

Chapter 23 Analysis

Cissy was able to confess to Valancy before she died. This places Valancy in a symbolic position of a priest or other religious figure and Cissy as a sinner. Additionally, Valancy has now come full circle in her life, back to where she started, without anybody needing her. It foreshadows Valancy having to make a decision on how she will live out the rest of her life...