Summary

Chapter 22 follows Noemí as she went to visit Virgil the following evening, where he asked if she now understood the situation and would “willingly join the family” (235). Noemí was resentful and argumentative, but Francis attempted to vouch for her, telling Virgil that she would not try to run away again. Virgil ordered Noemí to write a letter to her father telling him that she planned to stay at High Place until Christmas, with the expectation that she would write again at Christmas telling him that she had married and would live there. Noemí did so, as Virgil made it clear that her father’s life was at stake. Virgil announced that there would be a wedding ceremony for her and Francis. Noemí wondered why this was necessary, which led to a moment of tension between her and Virgil that began to turn sexual...