Summary

In this chapter, Sofia hears from her father that her mother has died. She knows she should feel sad about her mother passing, but she doesn’t. Sofia asks her employer for an advance to go home to the funeral, but isn’t sure if her parole officer will let her go. At this point, she takes the time to recall all of the details from her stern religious upbringing—the church, the Reverend Walker, her mother, and all of the rules that were strictly followed. She admits to marrying merely to get out of her family home. Finding her marriage to be a bad situation, she says, “Teaching was the only pleasure I had.”

Sofia also wonders about the young woman she beat at the motel. The morning after, when no one had come to take her to jail, she finds...