Summary

In Chapter 14, Geppetto only has thirty candles remaining. One day, he ventures out into the main deck where he is attacked by the ill-face. He flees back to the captain’s chart room but can hear the ill-face’s activity outside the door. In response, Geppetto begins to paint a portrait of his Pinocchio, offering him “an apology, the only way I know how” (157). All the while, his supply of candles dwindles, and Geppetto knows that he has little time left now.

As he paints, Geppetto experiences roots extending into his room and covering the walls. At this late state, Geppetto acknowledges “I know this now, I cannot avoid it—it is all my doing. To create such a blackness, it did come from me” (161). Geppetto hears the ill-face tapping at the door and begins to carve another figure out of wood...