Summary

Chapter 5, May 1839 – One year later. In the first part of the chapter, narration describes Mattie’s relationship with her husband, Emmanuel – how he lives and works on a plantation three miles distant, how they met and fell in love at a dance, and how he repeatedly plans to escape his owners and take Mattie and Samuel into freedom in the North. Mattie, however, repeatedly talks him out of it, saying Samuel is too young but in reality having other reasons for wanting to stay. Narration then shifts to the point of view of Ann, watching the fretful two year old Elizabeth (anxious for Mattie’s return) while listening to her husband Jonathan complain about Northern perspectives on slavery. When Mattie returns, Elizabeth’s joy is suppressed by Grandmother Wainwright, but approved by Ann, whose acceptance of Elizabeth’s and Mattie’s relationship is...