Chapter 10 Summary

Ruth meditates on Cain and Abel and on loss. She reflects that losing her mother has turned every small memory of her into an icon. If their mother had not killed herself but come back to the girls on the porch, Ruth and Lucille would have had the opportunity to grow up with her ignoring them, and to become frustrated and angry at her long silences, and her remoteness. As it is, her pain and sorrow has been forced on them by her suicide and her physical as well as emotional absence.

Sylvie's first efforts to appear like a normal household have failed. A letter arrives scheduling the custody hearing for a week later. Sylvie embarks on an even more frantic round of attempts to gain acceptance. Her cleaning efforts culminate in a long session of burning all the boxes, newspapers, and magazines...